This archive report was first published on 10 December 2019.
Published on December 10, 2019, a court in Nakuru, Kenya, made a landmark ruling in a case involving an elderly man who sought to benefit from his daughter's dowry after deserting his family for 27 years.
Mr. Joel Lagat Maina, 72, had been absent from his family since 1992, leaving his wife, Joyce Chemutai, 65, to care for their daughter on her own. The couple's marriage was dissolved by Senior Resident Magistrate Yvone Khatambi, who noted that the marriage was irretrievably broken and had no chances of being salvaged.
The court also dismissed Mr. Lagat's prayers for a share of the dowry, citing technicalities. "The marriage between the petitioner and the respondent celebrated on January 31, 1992 is hereby dissolved. The issue of dowry refund was raised in his submission and as a consequence the same must fail," Ms. Khatambi said.
Ms. Chemutai had filed the case in October 2018, seeking to block Mr. Lagat from demanding a share of the bride price. She claimed that she had left her matrimonial home in 1998 after her husband became cruel and denied her conjugal rights since 1994.
Mr. Lagat, however, claimed that it was his wife who left the matrimonial home and denied him a chance to take care of his children. He also alleged that Ms. Chemutai had cut all communication with him after moving in with another man.
