Ex-governor's son, estranged wife in court over children

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

A magistrate has ordered the son of a former governor and his estranged wife to produce their children in court to determine their upkeep and custody.

Nairobi Children's Court’s Magistrate Jackie Kibosia ruled that only after the children are presented will she determine who will have custody and how responsibility will be shared.

The magistrate issued the orders as the ex-governor’s wife sought to evict her daughter-in-law from her house after separating from her son.

“The house they have been staying in is mine. I only allowed them to live in it on a temporary basis 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 be rented out to repay a loan.

"I had given them the house on a temporary basis to help them settle but since they are adults, they can look for their own house and take care of their children in a manner they can afford. The property is mine and is not their matrimonial home,” she said.

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. He also stopped supporting the children despite being a man of means.

According to the woman, they got married in 2015. She claims she was ‘head-hunted’ by the former governor to marry his son and all was well until her parents-in-law started interfering in their marriage.

She claimed their troubles started when her husband insisted that she move out of the Embakasi house and relocate to Lang'ata to stay with his parents.

“He was supported by his mother who insisted that if I needed any support from the family, then I had to go live with them in Lang'ata. I felt this was uncomfortable living together with my parents-in-law under the same roof and declined to move out of our Embakasi house,” she said.

She claimed her husband walked out on them in November 2021 and efforts to reach him were frustrated by his mother. But the man said he has filed for divorce and wants an order that they both pay equal amounts as child support.

The magistrate directed that the children be produced in court on November 21 before she gives further orders.