Man loses bid to keep his children and home

A businessman has lost his bid to keep his children and his home after a Nairobi Court upheld its decision.

Nairobi Principal Magistrate Ann Nyoike upheld her decision to have the man removed from his home and further gave the wife interim custody of their three children until a custody battle is heard and determined.

The father of three had gone to court seeking to have orders to evict him from his matrimonial home reversed.

He was aggrieved by the court order which resulted in his losing his property earlier this week.

Through lawyer George Miyare, the court heard that the order violated his rights as the order was issued before his side was heard.

The lawyer further read mischief in that the court order that led to his eviction was not served directly to him and only heard of it from third parties, being police from Karen during the eviction.

On February 3, his wife stormed the home together with armed police and auctioneers and carried everything in his house.

“There was no order by the defendant to pay any sum of money that would lead to the carrying away of all his property from his matrimonial home,” the lawyer said.

He further accused the wife of distorting facts and failing to disclose crucial information to the court, information which would have changed the court’s decision.

“Most of the facts relied on have no relevance on the minors’ welfare. They are pegged on character assassination and blame game with no foundation,” Miyare argued.

The children’s mother had accused the father of being violent as a basis of having the man removed from his home.

Miyare asked the court to vacate the orders or issue a stay until the matter is heard and determined.

He further stated that the function of the children’s court is to bring families together and not disrupt the life of children by protecting their interests.

“The orders continue to impact the family negatively. The court should move fast and must not sanction anything that threatens the children,” he said.

The wife however countered this and told the magistrate that she would be seeking custody of the children.

Through lawyer Mogaka Mongare, she told the court the man was a drunk and threw her out of her matrimonial home seven months ago.

“The court had no option but to issue the orders. The Constitution gave the court jurisdiction to operate in the best interests of the child,” he said.

During the proceedings, a sister to the father was thrown out of court after it emerged that she was a journalist with a local newspaper.

The matter will be mentioned on February 25.