Woman rejects ‘wife’ in row over property

By FAITH RONOH

They allegedly got married according to Nandi customary law, which allows barren women to marry a fellow woman as a ‘wife’.

Under the customs, their union was consummated by elders, but a row over property between the ‘couple’ has seen them go to court.

The woman ‘husband’, Jepkoech Tapkili Metto, has disowned her alleged ‘wife’, Hellen Tum in a landmark case that is before the High Court in Eldoret. Tum, filed the case in 2005 claiming her ‘husband’ under the customary law had disowned her.

In response, Tapkili told the court that Hellen was residing on the piece of land as a licensee, something that the latter defended and told the court that she was her legitimate ‘wife’. However, in 2010, the land that is in dispute was transferred from Tapkili to Johana Kipkemei Too prompting Hellen to sue both Tapkili and Johana in a new court case.

Johana in turn also filed a case in court claiming that he was the rightful owner of the land and, therefore, seeking that Hellen be evicted. During a recent hearing the case took a different twist when the ‘husband’ practically denied knowledge of the ‘wife’.

Tapkili appeared before Justice Munyao denying ever marrying Hellen. In her testimony, Tapkili told the court she had been introduced to Hellen by a man only identified as Andrea, before she hired her as a labourer.

“I never went to Hellen’s home for an engagement ceremony or to simply ask for her hand in marriage. She was brought to my house by Andrea, before she started working for me,” Tapkili told the court.

She also denied ownership of Hellen’s children saying apart from a number of children that she left at her paternal home, she sired two children in her house with another man. The witness further denied sale of a one acre family land to pay for Hellen’s son medical bills way back saying land was leased and money used to offset the bills.

Tapkili said she has since been living with her parents and, therefore, has never confirmed weather the boy was buried in her farm or not.

“I was not at home when Hellen’s son was buried. I have never visited the farm since then, so I do not know whether he was buried in that piece of land or not,” she explained.

Hellen in her testimony asked the court to throw out the case and title deed returned to the ownership of her ‘husband’.

She denied claims that she had been hired as a casual labourer saying she was officially married off to her ‘husband’ during an engagement ceremony.

“I want the case to be thrown out and the title deed returned to Tapkili because she is the owner of the land and not Johana Kipkemei (the second plaintiff),” she told the court.

She told the court that in 1987, she left her paternal home to live with Tapkili in order to sire her children. She said after a few months, Tapkili together with other family members visited her parents to ask for her hand in marriage that was later consented.

“When Tapkili together with her family members sought for my hand in marriage my parents accepted and since then I have been living with her as my husband,” she said.

She added,” I got married to her in order to sire her children. This is acceptable under the Nandi customary law since she could not bear children.”

Hellen told the court that she had sired12 children with Tapkili contrary to what Tapkili had informed the court that Hellen’s children were never hers.

She further disclosed that she had been living happily with her ‘husband’ until 2005 when she started calling her a house help, later suing her in court.

“When Tapkili moved to court in 2005 I went to the land board in Kapsabet to block any dealings with the land since I was her legitimate wife but later on I received a letter from Johana Kipkemei at my doorstep threatening me to vacate the land,” she said.