Man loses land for failing to pay Sh10,000 child support

A man has lost his land in Kisumu for failing to pay for his child’s maintenance.

The man was required to pay Sh10,000 every month, but he defied court orders.

As a result, the court ordered that the half-acre be registered in the name of the child’s mother, rented out and the income used for the child’s upkeep.

In 2006, the man, identified in court papers with pseudo name JFM to protect the minor, had been directed to make the monthly payments after their marriage ended.

But in a move to outwit both the court and the woman, he first took a loan from Kenya Commercial Bank and used the land as security, then sold it off.

High Court Judge Stephen Kibunjia ordered that the title be reverted to the name of the woman after finding that the third party buyer colluded with the man to evade upkeep.

“The second defendant was not an innocent purchaser of the suit land for value, but an active participant in the first defendant (JFM) machination to evade or avoid the attachment of the rental income arising from the suit land as ordered by the Children’s Court on the August 5, 2015,” the judge found.

He continued, “The transfer of the suit land by the first defendant to the second defendant was aimed at defeating the cause of justice and must be frowned upon by not only this court but also all law abiding citizens and institutions.”

The two were married between 1999 and 2003 but after their marriage fell apart, the woman remained on the property until 2015 when she was told to vacate by the new land owner. JFM’s woes started in 2006 when the magistrate’s court in Kisumu ordered him to pay for his child’s upkeep.

SAO, his ex-wife, obtained four execution orders but JFM’s defiance persisted until the magistrate, in 2014, ordered that the land be attached for child’s upkeep.

The judge heard that SAO had placed a caution on the land, but it did not help.

The man told the court that although the contested land had been surrendered to the woman, there was no court order stopping him from disposing it off.

The buyer supported JFM’s argument that the case should be dismissed. He told the court that she had failed to leave or pay rent to him and her conduct was depriving him the opportunity to realise the fruits of his investment.

“I am an innocent purchaser of the suit property from the first defendant... the plaintiff is a trespasser on the suit land and lacks capacity to sue over the land,” the judge heard.

The woman on the other hand had told the court that her former husband and the buyer were known to each other.

She claimed the man had also had his way at the Lands ministry and ensured the title was changed.

Justice Stephen Kibunjia found that the buyer illegally obtained the land.