This archive report was first published on 11 September 2019.
Busia County has witnessed a shocking trend of men swapping wives in a bid to revive their failing marriages. The unusual practice has left many in the community stunned and questioning the state of relationships in the region.
According to reports, the incident began when Millicent Auma, a woman with two children, left her husband, Christopher Bwire, and moved in with another married man, Kevin Barasa. Barasa and his wife, Lilian Weta, had been living together for nearly 10 years and had three children.
Weta, who claimed her marriage had been unhappy for a while, said she was shocked when Barasa and Auma arrived at her home in the middle of the night, with Auma wearing Barasa's jacket. Auma allegedly ordered Weta to vacate the house, and Barasa instructed Weta to go look for Auma's husband and get married to him.
Weta, who had been experiencing frequent quarrels with Barasa, eventually decided to leave him and move in with Christopher Bwire. Bwire, who had been searching for his missing wife, Auma, was overjoyed to be reunited with her, and the two have since started a new life together.
Barasa, on the other hand, claimed he was no longer interested in Weta and was happy with Auma. The incident has sparked controversy, with some community members terming it 'weird' but noting that there was nothing they could do about it.
This is not the first time such an incident has occurred in Busia. In 2016, two men from Kakamega agreed to swap wives after one of them was caught having an affair with the other's wife. Another incident in 2017 involved a boda boda operator who traded his wife for Sh500 to quench his thirst for soda.
