Three widows on Wednesday conducted special prayers at the site of their demolished house in King’orani, Mombasa, following a family dispute.
Faridah Mahfudh, Esha Ali Rashid and Fatma Ashur, the first, second and third wives of Salim Faraj who died in 2013, said they are being denied their rights to shelter by one of the their brothers-in-law and his son.
Ashur, who was living in the demolished house with two of her children and five grandchildren, spent three days in hospital after two days in the cold following the demolition at around 2am on November 11.
The three widows said they all lived in the house but Mahfudh and Rashid moved to their own houses about eight years ago.
They had all spent over 40 years in the house, which is on a prime piece of land.
The house had business premises, which had been rented out to mechanics.
On Wednesday, the widows said they have left all the fighting to God who, they said, will fight for them.
“We had been happily married and never did we have any serious fight until his death. We have lived in this house for over 40 years. We don’t know what to do now,” Mahfudh said.
Ashur, the most vocal of the three, said their husband’s death had brought them untold suffering.
“We have not known peace since he died,” she said.
“God will pay us. We pray for justice to prevail. Help us. We do not have anywhere to live now.”
Said Faraj Said, the deceased's 60-year-old younger brother, appealed to his other brother to have mercy on their sisters-in-law.
According to Said, the deceased and the other brother own 50 per cent of the house each.
However, he claimed the brother wants to take Faraj’s shares of the house. The case is currently pending at the Court of Appeal.
Muhuri rapid response officer Francis Auma said police have become agents for hire. This is after the police supervised the demolition of the house.
“Police being used by anyone with money today has become rampant,” he said. “Today, the police are there to be hired to do anything, including violating the law.”
Edited by Henry Makori
