Proving adultery is an uphill task

Dear Harold,

I suspect my wife is having an affair(s) following information I received from friends and relatives. I cannot prove my fears, as she plays the perfect wife at home. She, however, has a strange behaviour of walking out of the house to receive phone calls. She also switches off her phone when going to the bathroom. Occasionally, she comes home with flowers, but becomes hostile when I ask her the source. How can I prove her suspected affair(s) and possible adultery?

 Paul, Nairobi.

Dear  Paul

Suspecting your wife of adultery and proving the same in court is not easy. Legally, adultery is considered a serious matrimonial offence whose evidence ought to be carefully and cautiously considered. Unless you catch your wife in the act, which the court may need at least two other eye witnesses, it may prove difficult to produce tangible evidence.

In many cases, courts may rely on circumstantial evidence. For instance, a husband may have gone for further studies for three years only to return and find his wife expectant. Another presumption of adultery is when a husband or wife is infected with a sexually transmitted disease – married spouses who are faithful should not suffer from a venereal disease.

Another assumption of adultery is when spouses cohabit – Family Law presumes that the come-we-stay relationship gives them a chance to commit adultery.

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