Living in Man’s House Not Proof of Marriage, Kenyan High Court Rules

The High Court in Kenya has ruled that living in a man’s house or having his name on one’s identification document (ID) is not proof of marriage.

The ruling was issued in two separate cases filed by two women from Kajiado and Murang’a counties.

In the first case, a woman identified as NMM in court was seeking to have a man she claimed to be her husband compelled to give her a share of money from the sale of a house in Ngong’.

NMM told the court that she met the man in 2009 when he was living in the US and in 2016, the two agreed she moves into the defendant’s house. She admitted to having knowledge that the man she called her husband had another wife in the US.

NMM further told the court that the man identified as JM was paying for her child’s upkeep although he was not the minor’s biological father.

Justice Chacha Mwita heard that she gave her alleged husband Sh840,000 to service a loan he had taken to build the contested house.

The woman further claimed that JM visited her parents, gave her father Sh100,000, and even attended his burial in 2017. This, she argued, was proof of love and customary marriage.

JM sold the parcel of land on which the contested house stood on to Kenya Railways to pave the way for the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR). NMM said JM requested that the money be deposited in his bank account in the US.

NMM also accused the man of wanting to sell a car she believed was for the family’s use. Her brother and brother-in-law testified on her behalf, saying they recognized JM as her husband.

But JM denied NMM was his wife, saying she was just a friend from his home area who he had allowed to live in his house while he was away. He added that he acquired the house for Sh1.6 million through a loan borrowed from Kenya Commercial Bank in 2013 and repaid the money without the woman’s help. He explained that he attended the burial of NMM’s dad as a friend.

Justice Mwita declined to rule on the legitimacy of their alleged marriage since NMM had filed a separate case before the magistrate’s court seeking orders to validate the union.

On the contested property, the judge ruled that the house was built three years before NMM moved in, adding that she failed to prove she had contributed, either directly or indirectly, to the purchase or development of the property.

“It is clear to this court that the plaintiff made a faint attempt to get from the defendant what she was not entitled to,” the judge ruled.

In the second case, a woman had moved to a Murang’a court seeking to inherit a man’s estate in the county but Justice Kanyi Kimondo declined to grant her plea despite having his name on her ID.

Justice Kanyi found that although Rose Wangari had lived with Stephen Ngigi for three years and taken his name, she could not prove Gikuyu customary marriage rites like paying the bride price happened.

The woman had tabled in court a photograph showing her seated next to Ngigi’s coffin as proof of their marriage.

She added that the deceased, who died at the age of 78, bought her mother two parcels of land as her bride price. The deceased’s daughter, Faith Wangui told the court that Wangari had been a house help.