How Kitany gave Linturi millions

At first, it was a fling. But it blossomed into an intense love affair.

A woman, they say, loves with her whole heart. Marrianne Kitany would seem to be no exception.

She found a soul mate. And she would lavish her newfound love Senator Mithika Linturi with his hearts' desire. Money was no object.

A sometimes smiling, sometimes seething Kitany told the court on Wednesday court how her desire to build a home made her spend millions, an extravagance that she now regrets.

That is the picture Kitany, former chief of staff to DP William Ruto, painted in divorce court when she narrated how she took her man on holidays and built him a home.

She told a packed court that she spent at least Sh70 million in acts of love.

Kitany painted a picture of a woman passionately in love and eager to do anything for the sake of her blended family, including his three children from other relationships. She has three children from her first marriage.

She took the family of eight for international vacations worth millions of shillings, built a home for Linturi's parents and contributed to the construction of their two palatial matrimonial homes.

A composed Kitany did not mince words. She said that when they first started courting in 2014, she would pay huge chunks of money for various events.

She claimed that at one point in 2014 she gave Linturi Sh200,000 to pay rent, which led him to move in with her in her Kileleshwa home.

They took all the children to Zanzibar in August to bond because they would be living together as one unit.

Kitany said that they sent her sister and her husband with the children to allow them to bond, and it worked.

She also said that later that year she convinced Linturi to enrol his eldest daughter in Australia where her son was in school so that his children didn't see it as discrimination that other siblings were abroad while they were in Kenya.

In December of that year, the whole family of seven went on a Christmas vacation to Australia where the other children andLinturi met Kitany’s son and they connected.

“Your Honour, I used a total of Sh11 million for the whole vacation that lasted over two weeks and we went to several cities including Perth and Sydney,” Kitany said.

On their way back they stopped in Dubai for two days before returning to Kenya.

Linturi is said to have paid school fees for one of Kitany’s children and his own when school opened that year.

The family took another trip to Mauritius in December 2015 with all children. It cost her Sh800,000, Kitany said.

She said that 2015 was a very hard year for her as she was among the175 civil servants who were being investigated for corruption. And like a loving boyfriend, the senator stood by her throughout her troubles.

Linturi is said to have convinced her to join his business, saying she had a good eye for investments. She joined  Atticon Ltd as a CEO  when the company was faltering.

Because the family was growing they decided to move from Kileleshwa into a rented house in Runda to accommodate all the children.

They both decided to renovate Linturi’s three-bedroom home in Meru to accommodate their big family.

The house was reconstructed for Sh40 million and Kitany said she paid Sh26 million of the total.

The house was officially opened in August 2016 and the Deputy President William Ruto was supposed to open it, but he sent Majority Leader Aden Duale.

They also built the Runda home for Sh110 million. She paid Sh30 million while Atticon put in the other Sh80 million further. She said her brother and sister had invested in the company.

Later, after they solemnised their marriage in April 2016, Kitany built a Sh8 house for Linturi’s parents in Meru.

Kitany told the court that at the time she was doing all those things, totally believing that she was building her home with her husband.

On the day of the traditional wedding, they both sacrificed solemnise their marriage. Kitany took miraa for the first time, and Linturi had to drink mursik, though he hated milk.

“Even though he did not like the milk, he had to drink mursik that it; it was also the first time I took miraa," Kitany said.

Describing to the court on how the ceremony was carried out in April, Kitany testified that Linturi paid 100,000 shillings as dowry, and wondered how a marriage certificate indicating Linturi was married to Mercy Kaimenyi only came up during the divorce proceedings.

Linturi gave Kitany’s mother a Nissan X-Trail, registration number KCG 850N Silver as a token of appreciation.

However, this car has never been transferred to the mother, with the court being told that the car is under Atticon Company belonging to the senator.

The courtroom burst into laughter when Kitany said that Linturi touched her heart on their wedding day as he was giving his speech.

The court heard that she cooked delicious food for Linturi and took very good care of him. She said that from the time they got married, people saw a change for the better in his grooming.

Why did Linturi’s parents miss the negotiations and dowry payment in Nandi? According to Kitany, Linturi told her that according to the tradition his parents could not attend because they had already gone to another woman’s home.

There were guests to demonstrate that they were married in accordance withthe Igembe subtribe tradition.

Kaitany told the court that Linturi showed elders his divorce papers, confirming that he was no longer married.

But in a new twist, Kitany told the court that Linturi may have forged the divorce papers against his then-wife, Mercy Kaimenyi, in order to woo her.

Kitany wants the court to summon DCI officers to shed light on alleged fake divorce papers that he gave her, later claiming she forged them.

She further told the court that she took part in all Linturi's campaigns in 2017 and even hosted Meru Governor Kiraitu Murungi in her home with his wife where they strategised on how they would win the elections.

At about 11.45am, magistrate Peter Gesora stood Kitany down again for the second day as he had a flight to catch.

The case will resume on August 28.