By Judy Ogutu
Chief Justice Willy Mutunga has been granted divorce by the High Court.
High Court Judge Justice G B M Kariuki granted him divorce from his estranged wife on grounds of cruelty.
The Judge dismissed a cross-petition that had been filed by his estranged wife, Prof Beverle Michele Lax.
In his divorce petition, Dr Mutunga had accused Lax of treating him with “cruelty” since they got married in 2000.
The CJ married Lax, an American scholar, on July 20, 2000 in San Mateo in the US and he filed for divorce on December 16, 2009.
Mutunga in his application had described the estranged wife as a person of ‘ungoverned’ temper. The CJ also claimed that she had physically and verbally assaulted him.
During the entire duration of the marriage, the court heard that, Lax allegedly referred to Mutunga’s former wife, daughter and son as parasites yet she knew calling them names caused him immense pain and torture.
destroying thesis
Dr Mutunga had also taken issue with his estranged wife for destroying his academic thesis, which touched on Landlord/Tenant relationships in Kenya.
Mutunga told the court that in 2003, Lax while knowing that he had only one copy of the document, tore up, mutilated and destroyed it. He said the action, was intended to cause him maximum psychological, emotional and intellectual pain.
The scholar responded to the divorce petition on May 13, 2010 and also filed a cross-petition for divorce.
In response, Lax denied some of Dr Mutunga’s allegations and instead accused him of being a “pathological liar”.
In the cross-petition, she had also claimed Mutunga had a violent and uncaring attitude towards her.
