This archive report was first published on 18 July 2020.
Trans-Nzoia County is home to a disturbing case of marital betrayal, where a middle-aged woman has been forced to live in the shadows for over two years after her husband kicked her out of their matrimonial home and brought in a male lover.
Millicent Adhiambo, a mother of eight, has been living in fear and uncertainty since her husband began cohabiting with a youthful man from Mombasa, who has since replaced her as his partner.
According to Adhiambo, her husband and his lover conspired against her and threw her out of the house, changing all the door locks in the process. She has been forced to spend nights in neighbours' houses, with her attempts to pitch camp outside her home met with hostility by the two.
Adhiambo's husband allegedly grievously harmed her on the shoulders by hitting her hard using firewood, and the two now share a bedroom and walk hand in hand. The mother of eight is pleading with the Government to help her get justice.
Adhiambo's case is not an isolated incident, as Kenya has a history of persecuting the LGBTQ+ community. In 2019, the High Court in Nairobi upheld a law banning gay sex, keeping same-sex relations punishable by 14 years in jail. The National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission has recorded over 1,500 attacks against LGBTQ+ Kenyans since 2014.
When faced with pressure to decriminalise homosexuality in Kenya in 2015, President Uhuru Kenyatta said 'gay rights is really a non-issue', while Deputy President William Ruto said Kenya had 'no room' for gays. Garissa Township MP Aden Duale once told Parliament that homosexuality was 'as serious as terrorism'. The Government has arrested 534 people for same-sex relationships between 2013 and 2017.
