A file containing the judgement of a sensational matrimonial case in which a woman was ordered to return dowry to her ex-husband has gone missing from the Kisii law courts.
Litigant James Mayaka says disappearance of the file has slowed efforts to recover part of the remaining dowry and other costs the court ordered his estranged wife Esther Kerubo to pay.
The court found Kerubo deserted Mayaka to live with a witchdoctor in Kisii town.
Yesterday, Mayaka , through his lawyer Samson Sagwe said he has written to Kisii law courts deputy registrar to set up a special team to search for the file.
Court records list file Div No 3 /2011 as officially missing, sparking speculations by the litigant of possible tampering with his case by some forces within the law courts.
Mayaka went to court in 2011 to have the marriage between him and Kerubo dissolved and demanded back his dowry plus additional costs he incurred educating her in college.
He told the court his marriage hit the rocks after the woman of his life fell in the embrace of witchdoctor practising in Kisii town.
Wife and husband, both teachers, had been married for more than 20 years before adultery choked off the love between them.
By yesterday, the woman was yet to pay Sh35,200 of the 333,205 the court ordered.
The litigant's lawyer said the payment was still behind schedule due to the disappearance of the court file.
Kerubo is yet to begin paying Mayaka more than Sh283 000, the combined cost of flopped appeals.
Lawyer Sagwe told the Star yesterday said the disappearance of his client’s file is calculated to hinder justice. He requested the registrar to speed up recovery of the crucial file.
“We request that you employ enough manpower to search for the file urgently because already the payments are behind schedule,” said part of the letter addressed by the litigant to the deputy registrar’s office by Sagwe.
High Court judge Crispin Nangila in his ruling said the marriage had broken down beyond repair, consequently ordering the woman to compensate her former husband.
