A Nakuru court has dismissed a divorce petition filed by a Kenyan man living in the United States, ruling that his four-year relationship with his former partner did not qualify as a legally recognised marriage. Senior Principal Magistrate Aloyce Ndege dismissed the case filed by BMT against MWM, finding that there was no valid marriage for the court to dissolve. He directed that the two parties be regarded as unmarried.
BMT had filed the petition in May last year, seeking to end the alleged marriage on grounds of cruelty. He told the court that he and MWM had lived together as husband and wife for four years before their relationship deteriorated and they separated in 2024.
In his testimony, BMT accused MWM of failing to meet what he considered her responsibilities as a wife, including contributing towards household expenses. He told the court that he had shouldered the financial demands of the household throughout their relationship.
The petitioner further explained that he had moved to the United States in search of better opportunities but continued to maintain his home in Nakuru. He also informed the court that MWM had since entered another romantic relationship.
BMT asked the court to presume that a marriage existed between them and subsequently grant him a divorce. Although MWM was served with the petition, she did not enter an appearance or file a response. The matter therefore proceeded as an undefended case, with BMT being the only party to give oral evidence.
However, Magistrate Ndege ruled that presuming the existence of a marriage would serve no meaningful purpose when the same proceedings sought to dissolve it. The magistrate questioned the basis for recognising a marriage through presumption only for the court to terminate it in the same proceedings. He also observed that the four-year period of cohabitation, alongside the evidence presented, was insufficient to justify presuming that the parties had entered into a marriage.
In his determination, the magistrate emphasised that Kenyan law recognises specific forms of marriage, including Christian, Muslim, Hindu, customary and civil unions, which may be dissolved through the appropriate legal process.
The court consequently dismissed the petition as unnecessary, concluding that no marriage recognised under Kenyan law had been established between BMT and MWM. The magistrate ordered BMT to bear the costs of the proceedings.
