Ex-husband to marathon star seeks 50 percent matrimonial estate

Jeremiah Maina, ex-husband to Kenyan Marathon star Lucy Kabuu at Nakuru High Court on April 26, 2024, before Justice Samwel Mohochi. Kabuu seeks to block Maina from their matrimonial property. [Daniel Chege, Standard]

The ex-husband to Marathon star Lucy Kabuu is seeking 50 percent of their matrimonial estate, estimated to be worth over Sh10 million.

Kabuu is the 2006 Commonwealth 10,000 metres champion.

Jeremiah Maina submitted before Justice Samwel Mohochi that they allegedly accumulated wealth with Kabuu between 2009 and 2014 when they were together.

Maina, who was Kabuu’s coach before they got married, stated that he made a substantial contribution to the acquisition of their wealth.

He said he owned properties and businesses before he met Kabuu, refuting claims by his estranged wife that all the matrimonial properties were acquired using her money.

“I was a police officer earning Sh36,000. I had 11 acres of land in Nyahururu where I grew potatoes and kept dairy cattle and would earn at least Sh200,000 monthly,” Maina said.

He said he resigned from the Police Service in 2014 to run the family business and coach Kabuu.

According to Maina, the coaching job used to earn him over Sh100,000 monthly.

"We started with nothing, and we were living in a rented house in Nyahururu, but together, we bought properties and accumulated wealth," he said.

Kabuu, who testified in April this year, wants the court to block Maina from the entire matrimonial estate.

In her testimony, she maintained that she used millions earned in athletics to buy properties and land worth tens of millions.

She said she acquired the majority of her properties before meeting Maina, who was then her coach.

"All the funds used to acquire property, even when I was together with Maina, came from my earnings in athletics," she testified.

Kabuu accused Maina of being cruel, violent, dishonest, and uncaring when they were together, insisting that she believed he only entered into the marriage to steal from her.

"I ask the court to order the transfer of all properties registered in Maina's name to my name because everything is a product of my sweat," she testified.

Kabuu narrated how Maina allegedly staged his abduction and demanded a ransom of Sh500,000, only to claim later that the kidnappers had released him when she involved the police.

She also accused him of staging a robbery within their house, and “When I discovered his ploy, Maina assaulted me and threatened to end my career.”

She testified that Maina went to the point of hiding her Identity card in 2012 to ensure all her earnings were channelled through his bank accounts.

Their marriage was dissolved in 2020 after the court ruled it was irretrievable.

The disputed properties include prime plots in Nakuru, Nyandarua, Laikipia, and Nairobi, commercial and residential properties, motor vehicles, and parcels of land in other parts of the country.

The hearing will continue on September 26.