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| Eldoret widow Caroline Mumbua |
An Eldoret court has granted a widow the right to bury her husband after a painful battle that saw her go head to head with her Keiyo inlaws. Eldoret widow Caroline Mumbua who can now bury her husband.How did Eldoret court rule? On Tuesday, October 1, the court ruled in favour of Caroline Mumbua in the dispute against her inlaws, who had called her a mere concubine to their son. Nation reports Mumbua’s inlaws had cited unfulfilled cultural marriage rites, blocking her attempts to bury her late husband. According to the ruling by Eldoret Senior Principal Magistrate Mogire Onkoba, Mumbua was Korir’s legal wife, earning her the right to bury him. Why did Mumbua’s mother-in-law call her concubine?
The ruling comes a week after Mumbua’s mother-in-law declared that she was not married to her son as their community only recognised four cows as dowry, not goats. On her side, the grieving widow had maintained that the goats were documented as dowry in her culture. “I have never recognised her as my daughter-in-law as she claims in the court documents. The goats we took to her parents’ home in Ukambani were just presents not dowry,” said Korir’s mum. During the ruling, the court established that a cultural background check on the marriage rites of the Keiyo and Kamba communities revealed that dowry was given when exchange was done.
For the Keiyo, the traditional marriage ceremony is identified as Koito, and for the Kamba, it is called Ngasia. Why did the court recognise Mumbua’s marriage? The court was told that during the Ngasia event in Makueni county, the Keiyo family gave three goats, and one was killed to signify a marriage covenant between Mumbua and Korir. Mumbua went to court a month ago after her brother-in-law and mother-in-law plotted to sideline her in marriage arrangements. “Caroline Mumbua, as the surviving spouse, ranks high in the priority of burying the deceased in the family ancestral land given to him by his father, Johan Yator,” ruled the court.
by Susan Mwenesi