Former governor's son, estranged wife battle over child custody

A couple overwhelmed by emotions after an argument. [Getty Images]

A son of a former governor has moved to court seeking to have custody of three minors in a case pitting him against his estranged wife.

This comes as his wife claimed, in response, that the man allegedly refused to take up well-paying jobs to escape parental responsibility.

In his application before the Nairobi Children's Court, the man stated that his three children should be with him and their grandmother for the Christmas festivities.

According to him, the court directed that th should be granted custody between December 16 and 23 and thereafter their mother would have them back until January 15, 2024.

“The court did not give ruling or direction on how I will access the minors in the intervening period between December 1, 2023, and January 15. The import of the court’s directions is that I have been denied access until a date after January 15,” he claimed.

In her response, his estranged wife asserted that the house she lives in is their matrimonial home but the husband allegedly left and blocked her on the phone. She said that two minors need special care and thus should not go with him.

She also claimed that the eldest daughter refused to go to her paternal grand parents’ home.

“The plaintiff has been turning down big government job offers from his parents and even up to current month of November 2023 where he refused because he does not want to provide for the minors,” she replied.

In his affidavit before the court, the man stated he has no means as he earns Sh20,000 a month.

Shared responsibility

According to him, the house belongs to his mother. He wants shared responsibility, where his wife will provide shelter for the minors and he does the same whenever they are with him.

On the other side, the woman asked the court to order him pay Sh230,000 a month for upkeep. She asked for Sh60,000 per month for electricity, water, nanny, entertainment among others. She also prayed for Sh120,000 for food and other utilities.

Her other prayer is for an order that the man pay Sh50,000 for rent in the event his mother repossesses the house.

She claimed that his parents promised her a job to enable her to raise the minors but they did not honour their word.

The ex-governor’s wife had sought to evict her daughter-in-law from her house after separating from her son.

“The house they have been staying is mine. I only allowed them to live in it temporarily as they looked for their own house to accommodate them and their children,” she said.

She claimed her daughter-in-law misled the court that the house was their matrimonial home, leading the magistrate to issue an order on August 30 stopping her eviction.

According to the ex-governor’s wife, she is retired and has no source of income. She wants the house in Embakasi to rent it out to repay a loan.

The magistrate had restrained the man from evicting his estranged wife from the house and ordered him to pay maintenance for their three children.

The woman claimed that the ex-governor’s son deserted the family and filed for divorce after she declined to relocate to their rural home. 

According to the woman, their troubles started when her husband insisted that she moves out of the Embakasi house and relocates to Lang’ata to stay with his parents.