Woman strips after judgment on land case

Hellen Tum outside the Eldoret High Court after she lost a land case.

Eldoret, Kenya: Drama unfolded at the Eldoret High Court when a woman stripped after a ruling on case involving her and another woman. The two were allegedly married to each other according to Nandi customary laws.

Nandi customs allow a barren woman to marry a fellow woman and the union is overseen by clan elders.

In her ruling, Justice Silah Munyao upheld the argument by the complainant's lawyers that the marriage did not actually exist, allowed eviction of the defendant Hellen Tum from the land of her alleged "husband" and also ordered payment of damages to the complainant.

In the first matter that was taken to court in 2005, Tum sued her "husband" Tapkili Metto for allegedly disowning her despite the two having stayed together as a couple since 1989.

But in her defence, Tapkili denied having married Tum, adding that she was a house help. The case, however, took a different turn in 2010 when the land in dispute was transferred to Johanna Kipkemei Too, which prompted Tum to a file a new suit against her "husband" and the new land owner.

Overturn transaction

In the second suit, Tum contested the transfer of the land from Tapkili to Johanna without her consent as a "wife" and asked the court to overturn the transaction. Johanna filed another case in court, claiming that he was the rightful owner of the land and sought for the eviction of Tum from the asset.

"I never went for a ceremony in Tum's home or asked anybody to bear children for me," Tapkili told the court.

Munyao said that he was not convinced by the defence's argument that the children Tum bore were Tapkili's as nobody had sworn an affidavit that he/she witnessed the marriage.

He said that he could not reverse the ruling by Justice Festus Azangalala issued on December 2, 2012, that gave the transfer of land to Johanna a clean bill of health. Immediately after the ruling, Tum undressed outside the court and started hurling insults at the judge before she was calmed down by passers-by.