Kenyan politicians locked in divorce drama
By Freya WanjikuEven as they legislate and lead the development agenda, a section of Kenya’s top politicians appear to be in a struggle to balance their day job and private lives.
As a result, most of them are being divorced or walked out on by their significant others with infidelity, lack of intimacy, violence, communication breakdown among others, the reasons advanced in court battles.
These include;
1. Ali Hassan Joho – The Mombasa’s Governor wife Madina Giovanni Fazzini has filed for divorce, saying her marriage to the seasoned politician had irretrievably broken down and could not be revived either legally or socially.
While also stating the troubled couple only lived as husband and wife for two of their ten years in marriage, she also says moved out of their matrimonial home, worsening the already troubled marriage. Ms Fazzini an Italian, filed the suit on January 26,2022, after 9 years of being apart. The court has given the flamboyant politician 14 days to explain his side of the story.
2. Alfred Mutua – The Machakos Governor endured a bitter divorce with his first wife namely Josephine Mutua. He then brought in Lillian Ng’ang’a as his girlfriend but this romance too didn’t work, as she worked on her into the arms of a musician namely Julius Owino aka Juliani. This separation was also rocky as Ms Ng’ang’a, who at worked as Machakos First Lady through her lawyer claimed her life was in danger and that the Governor was taking her wealth behind her back. Additionally, she claimed that Juliani, her now boyfriend was also receiving threats.
3. Mithika Linturi – The Meru Senator’s ex-wife Maryanne Kitany filed for divorce case citing allegations of infidelity, theft and forgery in court. During court Ms Kitany said she became suspicious of the senator’s moves who would come home later and did not want to give her, her conjugal rights and ended up quarrelling. When she decided to go through his phone she found images of half-naked women and pornography. Linturi hit back, claiming he was never formally married to Kitany and only took her in as a friend. He further claimed to have been formally married to another woman and, thus, could not also be married to Kitany.
4. Aisha Jumwa – The Malindi lawmaker opened up on how her marriage crumbled at the time her political career took off. The divorce emanated from her ex-husband belief that he could not have a wife who was a politician. The advocate of women empowerment added that she could not sacrifice her career because of her marriage.
5. Rashid Ahmed – The Lamu Governor was dragged to court by his wife Lilly Suleiman who was seeking a divorce.
The politician in his defence attempted to block the court from discussing his property in the case, saying the Kadhi’s Court lacks jurisdiction to listen to matters touching on the company’s shares as the same involves commercial transactions.
“The company shares are not part of the matrimonial property. The defendant shall raise a preliminary objection of the same before the hearing hereof,” said Mr Ahmed in a defence filed at the Kadhi’s court in Mombasa.