MW v. AN

Nature of the Case

The parties had been married in 1990, and their marriage was terminated in court in 2011. During the marriage, they had acquired a parcel of land together in Nakuru, which the wife (plaintiff) alleges they then applied together on a loan for construction. The house was never completed, and the wife left to live in a different place in 2003. She brought this suit asking the sole matrimonial property to be sold and the proceeds shared. The husband (defendant) alleged that the wife had provided no contribution to the home, and therefore any sale or proceeds should go solely to him as the sole registrant of the house. The court ruled that the wife had materially contributed to the purchase of land and partial construction, even if this was not in a monetary manner, and thus was owed a remedy.

Enforcement of the Decision and Outcomes

The High Court ruled that the parties should have the LR Nakuru Municipality Block valued, sold, and share the proceeds of the share equally; share the cost of valuation equally; and that the plaintiff should receive half (1/2) the costs associated with the lawsuit.

Significance of the Case

The High Court ruling recognized the contribution that women make to the family and ruled specifically that non-monetary contributions to a family should be put into consideration during the dissolution of a marriage. The case contributed to the field of law that works to build equality within the family context in Kenya and globally and strengthened the interpretation of Article 45 of the Constitution regarding rights of each spouse to the ownership of matrimonial property. A justice in the case stated, “that the process where a woman bears the pregnancy, gives birth, and takes care of the babies and where after divorce or separation she takes care of the children single handedly without any help from the father of the children should matter in any debate on the division of matrimonial property.”

For their contributions, special thanks to ESCR-Net member: the Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy (PHRGE) at Northeastern University.