Can I sue her for having an affair?

Dear Harold,

My wife is having an affair. I am deeply disappointed because we have a one-year-old child who needs our attention. I have spoken to her severally to end the relationship, but she says she made a mistake by agreeing to marry me in church — a wedding that cost me nearly Sh800,000. She even had guts, last week, to admit that they started going out before I married her. Can I sue her?

Peter, Nairobi.

Dear Peter,

You cannot sue your wife or her alleged lover for having an affair. Adultery is also not a crime in Kenya as it is voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and someone other than the lawful spouse.

Physically attacking the man is a criminal offence – you may be charged with assault or causing grievous harm, depending on injuries inflicted.

And killing anyone having an affair with your spouse may amount to charges of either manslaughter or murder.

 It is not in Kenya alone where adultery is not a criminal offence, but also in neighbouring countries like Uganda where the Constitutional Court scrapped it.

 The Constitutional Court in Uganda said Section 154 of its Penal Code Act, which criminalised adultery, was unconstitutional because it treated men and women differently.

Earlier, the law made it an offence for a married woman to have an affair, but allowed a cheating husband to have an affair with an unmarried woman.