This archive report was first published on 11 October 2019.
On October 11, 2019, a Catholic priest named Jackson Micheni testified in court about his role in the marriage between Meru Senator Mithika Linturi and Mercy Kaimenyi.
According to Micheni, he officiated a Christian marriage between Linturi and Mercy on April 8, 2000, at the Tigania Parish. The priest's testimony was given in a divorce case between Linturi and Marianne Kitany, which was heard in open court.
A wedding video was played in court, with Micheni stating, “It was a true marriage between Linturi and Mercy. As you can see, I have also aged a bit since then.”
However, the priest's testimony was met with skepticism by Kitany's lawyers, who questioned him about the validity of the marriage certificate. The certificate was produced as evidence, but it was noted that Micheni's signature was missing and one of the witnesses did not sign the document.
The court also noted that the marriage document was only certified last year by another priest, which raised questions about the authenticity of the certificate.
Linturi had previously accused Kitany of forging papers to show that he had divorced Kaimenyi in 2005, but Kitany told the court that a forensic analysis had confirmed the genuineness of the divorce suit papers.
The hearing resumes on October 15.
