Trouble in paradise: De'Mathew widows call it quits

During the burial of the celebrated king of benga musician John Mwangi Ng'ang'a, popularly known as John De'Mathew, many are those who marveled at his widows' public display of affection. Sabina Wairimu alias Sarafina DeMathew and Caroline Waithera put up a show of solidarity and love throughout the mourning period, during and after the burial ceremony. Holding each other's shoulders, the two talked nicely about each other. They claimed one could call the other to inquire about their husband's whereabouts in case he got late in returning home.

"Caroline has respected me, and we don't want anyone to come between us. Our children live together in harmony and nothing will change after our husband's death," Sarafina said at the burial ceremony attended by former President Uhuru Kenyatta and President William Ruto, then the Deputy President. After the burial, the two could appear in public events wearing similar dresses. They even jointly released a song to celebrate their dead husband.However, it was all meant to deceive the public for soon, the curse that visits families once the family patriarchy passes on set in. That the two did not get along together came to light in August last year.

Waithera took to social media to rant that she had been kicked out of her matrimonial home with her child who she sired with the legendary musician. She has since rented a house."Our differences arose last year because of De'Mathew's royalties, we have been sharing his dues but when I started my YouTube channel, my co-widow blocked me from sharing our husband's dues," Waithera told The Nairobian by phone.

Property woes

She accused Sarafina of teaming up with some of De'Mathew's relatives to frustrate her.Despite being the second wife, Waithera, a mother of two, lived at De'Mathew's ancestral home for the five years she was married to him. Waithera has filed a suit at the High Court demanding to be included back as a beneficiary of De'Mathew's royalty. "This is the thing, we have been sharing our husband's proceeds for three years. I want the Judge to declare whether the move was just. I'm fighting for my rights," Waithera told The Nairobian. According to the widow, before she made up her mind to proceed to the courts, she had sent an arbitrator to her co-widow but the move proved futile. The two widows who were described as perfect dual during the burial of their husband, are now tearing into each other in the slightest provocation, the latest being on their Facebook pages.

Last year, while commemorating the third anniversary of her husband, Waithera took to social media to call out De'Mathew's "fake friends" and to "report" her in-laws to the deceased. "I swear Njogu was your friend, he has been checking up on me and your little Matthew Simba. How I wish you can come back and know that you didn't have friends. But on the other hand, you had a few true friends...I wish you knew how your family treated me as well after your demise. They even threw me out of our house, where I gave birth to your son," she wrote on her Facebook page.

In a veiled response, Sarafina responded. "Be quiet. The mouth never fights but God fights for a silent mouth. People will understand what they want to understand but you can never convince them. Lies are sweet, truth is bitter," she wrote on her Facebook page. However, when reached for comment, Sarafina refused to expound on their differences, saying she had reasons that would not allow her to divulge the details. "Cia mucii to como... home affairs can't be told to the public. The owner of the home did not entertain gossip and anyone who is speaking about home affairs did not know John better and even then, speaking about what is happening will not add any value to me or De'Mathew's children," she said.