Man at centre of viral video at Eldoret Children's Court now seeking full custody of two minors
The man at the centre of the Eldoret family drama, where a woman protested a judge's ruling that she should share custody of her children, is now seeking full custody of the two minors.
The court last Friday ordered the father of the children, aged nine months and five years, to pay their school fees and Sh5,000 for their mother's monthly maintenance.
Video footage captured by Nation.Africa shows the furious woman angrily challenging the court's decision on the maintenance of her two children in the case involving her 45-year-old married lover – a high school principal.
The man now says he has been humiliated by his lover after the video went viral on social media. He says he wants full custody of the children and his family has agreed to take them in.
Interestingly, the duo were seen together at the Children's Court Registry when the application was filed on Monday.
Principal Magistrate Christine Menya, who made the ruling, has since defended her decision, saying it was in the best interests of both mother and children.
The 25-year-old mother objected to the decision and spoke angrily, accusing the court of being too lenient with the children's father and giving him less responsibility.
She said she had expected the court to force the respondent to meet the other needs of the children, including food, medical care, clothing and shelter.
"Where am I going to get the money to educate the children, to house them, to feed them, to clothe them? I have to take care of two children who are still young, with what means?" she had protested.
"I refused the order. If he wants, he can apply for custody and take them. I don't want this anymore," the angry woman shouted.
The man now claims he has already financed and helped the woman set up a hairdressing salon in Eldoret town.
When he applied for custody of the children on Monday, the applicant told the court that the children felt safer with him than with their mother.
The man told the court that his other family had embraced the two children, so they would find more comfort with them than with their biological mother, whom he described as dramatic.
The court will give further directions on the matter in two weeks' time, and in the meantime the status quo of the children's custody will be maintained.
Section 8 of the Children Act 2001 states that a child under the age of 10 shall be in the care of the mother unless there are good reasons to the contrary.
In April 2022, a High Court judge made a landmark ruling in a similar case where a man was awarded custody of his children after his wife divorced him during the coronavirus pandemic.
In his ruling, Justice Joel Ngugi said the law was not necessarily in the best interests of the children. He awarded custody to the man who had cared for the children for six years while the mother lived abroad.
"In most cases in this scenario, as in our country here, most fathers lose custody of their children because of gender considerations," said Judge Ngugi.
According to the law, the person seeking sole custody of a minor must have legal grounds for doing so. These can include evidence of abuse, neglect or abandonment by the other parent and the best interests of the child.
