A Mombasa woman has been awarded 50 per cent of her ex-husband’s land for her child care and companionship roles during their 16-year marriage.
The reprieve came after the woman moved to the Mombasa appellate court seeking to quash a High Court decision that awarded her 10 per cent of the parcel.
The man claimed that he purchased the plot - on which the matrimonial home stands - at Sh1,050,000 out of which the ex-wife contributed Sh300,000 only.
She later demanded a refund of her contribution pursuant to which he paid her Sh98,000, leaving a balance.
According to the man, the ex-wife’s contribution was insignificant.
The marriage between the two was solemnised on December 10, 1999, at the registrar’s office in Mombasa.
The couple cohabited in Nyali, Mombasa, up to 2002 before they relocated to Serena.
On March 24, 2009, they separated when the man left their matrimonial home after a disagreement, which made it difficult for them to continue living under the same roof.
They were granted joint custody and equal maintenance of their three children.
The woman petitioned for divorce on grounds of cruelty and desertion and their marriage was dissolved on February 8, 2016.
On her part, the woman insisted that she made a substantial contribution towards the acquisition and development of the matrimonial home.
“In fact, it was my idea to purchase the plot upon which we built our home. I supervised the construction; put in money and time in the furnishing and decoration of the property,” she said.
The mother thus insisted that she made both direct and indirect, monetary and non-monetary contribution in the matrimonial home.
Moving to appeal, she said the judge did not take into consideration her indirect contribution which included caring for children, providing companionship and managing the matrimonial home.
“We assess both her direct and indirect contribution to be 50 per cent. We set aside the trial court’s ratio of 10:90 in favour of the respondent and substitute it with a ratio of 50:50,” Justice William Ouko, Daniel Musinga and Gatembu Kairu said in a joint ruling.
Edited by R.Wamochie
