A woman from Nyamira County was on Monday laid to rest after three months of court battles between two men who claimed to be her legitimate husband.
Ms Agnes Moikoyo, 41, from Nyabisimba village is said to have been married to Mr Fred Nyakang’o before separating with him when they had one child. After her separation, she subsequently got married to James Ogamba and she had two children with him.
Trouble, however, started when Ms Moikoyo died at a Kisii hospital and the two men claimed his body for burial.They had to go to court for arbitration over who had the right to bury the woman.
Kisii Senior Principal Magistrate Kibet Sambu asked the two sides to solve the case out of court.
“They had both married the woman in separate times and even had children with her. The two men had also paid dowry and that is why it was difficult for the court to settle the matter,” said Peter Ogeto, a family friend.
The matter was solved through intensive negotiations by elders and family members from the involved parties. Mr Nyakang’o was allowed to bury the deceased and in addition to take custody of the first child while Mr Ogamba was given back his dowry and also allowed to take custody of the remaining two children.
“It was a tough case but I really want to thank both sides for handling it with sobriety. What is important here is that each man was allowed to take custody of their children,” said Nyaribo Ombaba, a village elder.