woman vows to stop husband's wedding

Ms Kezziah Ngima during an interview- Photo By Faith Nyamai

BY FAITH NYAMAI

@faithnyamai

nyamai@gmail.com

A Nyeri woman has vowed to stop her estranged husband from legalizing his marriage with his second wife in a church wedding on Saturday for refusing he gives their 12 years old son his share of inheritance.

Ms Kezziah Ngima,38 years old is threatening to obtain a court order by Friday  and in the event the order is not issued by then she storm the wedding venue and declare to be the first customary married wife to Mr Danson Njuguna.

Her separated husband Mr Njuguna is scheduled to legalize his marriage with his second wife at the St Francis Asisi Catholic Church in Kasarani Nairobi.

According to Ms Ngima they had been customary married with Mr Njuguna from 2001 to 2010 and had together born two children, one is the 12 years old son while the other child died during delivery in 2006.

Ms Ngima said the two came to know each other in 1998 when she was a student while Mr Njuguna was her tutor at a college in Nakuru.

They visited her parents and Mr Njuguna paid her dowry in April, 3, 2001 after which they moved in together on a customary marriage as husband and wife living in Murang’a where he comes from.

At the time, Ms Ngima said she and her parents wanted they get married in church but they did not because he and his parents claimed they did not have enough money to hold a wedding.

“Disagreements started when we moved to Nairobi in 2006 and I got pregnant for our second born child,” she told the Daily Nation.

When her time to deliver came, she was taken to the Kenyatta National hospital where she was admitted, the doctors discovered a problem and they told her that it was a rapture.
“The doctor said it was already too late and that lead to the death of our baby. The doctors also said because of the rapture I could no longer give birth and to safe my life my uterus had to be removed” she said.

Mr Ngima said, soon after recovery her husband started mistreating her and would many times move out of their matrimonial home and started relating to another woman claiming he cannot continue living with a barren woman.

“ In 2010 March ,he left our house and moved in with another woman, leaving me alone with our son and he even went ahead and paid dowry for the second woman whom they are living together and wants to legalize their wedding with on Saturday” explained Ms Ngima.

She said, in October 2010, she filed a case in court seeking that Mr Njuguna supports and caters for the expenses of raising and educating their son.

On June 7, 2011 Nyeri resident Magistrate Joan Wambilyanga ordered Mr Njuguna to take his parental responsibility of his son. The court also ordered him to educate and pay for all medical expenses and a guardian up keep of Sh 10,000 per month and the cost of the suit.

Ms Ngima said that even after the ruling, Mr Njunguna has refused to support their son.

When contacted through phone Mr Njuguna said he did not want to discuss anything with the media.

Mr Njuguna said because Ms Nguma is out to shame him, he has cancelled the planned wedding but they will meet her on a separate place.

“I do not have my side of story, because she has succeeded in stopping the wedding I have cancelled it, I cannot stand that shame she wants to put me in,” said Mr Njuguna.

He added “I have talked to my lawyer and we shall be meeting her even if it is in court.”

The church is expected to officiate mass weddings where 36 couples will  formalize their marriages.

Efforts to get a comment from the priest in charge failed as call we placed went unanswered.