Can a customary marriage become statutory?

Dear Harold,

This column recently highlighted differences between customary and statutory marriages. I am shocked that in customary marriages, there is a silent provision that a man can be adulterous but not the wife. It is also potentially polygamous and gives husbands the leeway to chastise their wives. My husband may be privy to these provisions as he finds it difficult to keep his zip up. I fear contracting sexually transmitted infections from him as a result of his philandering ways. I want us to have a statutory marriage so that in case he is adulterous, I can file for a divorce. How do I go about it?

Diana, Nairobi.

Dear Diana,

Statutory marriages are weddings performed in church, the DC's office or at the Registrar of Marriages (Attorney General's office). For it to take place, both parties must be single and if already married under customary law, it can be transformed into statutory by undergoing the above procedures. The parties marrying must be biologically man and woman and aged at least 21 years when marrying without consent of their parents. However, when a man is aged 18 years and woman 16, they may get married after getting consent from either their parents or guardians. Moreover, the two must be mentally stable and can no longer marry other people as long as their spouses are still alive. The marriage can only end legally by either divorce in court or death. If a person married in church or at the office of the District Commissioner marries while the marriage still exists, he or she will have committed an offense called bigamy and can be jailed for up to five years.

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