Mohamed Abduba Dida arrived in Illinois in January 2019 to further his studies with the intention of returning to Kenya at the end of his academic excursion. While in Illinois, the man who had twice hoped, but failed, to be the dark horse in two Presidential elections went through with his fourth wedding.
Dida had already married three women in Kenya, but one of his marriages ended in divorce. The rest of his family, including the other two wives, took no issues with the former teacher’s decision.
The marriage in the US birthed a child, the last born of more than a dozen siblings based in Kenya.
Things took a dramatic turn in July 2021 when Dida and his wife had a dispute that would land the two-time Presidential election candidate a seven-year prison sentence which has since attracted an additional year.
On Tuesday, Dida’s family said in an interview that despite the turn of events, the American wife is still part of their family as she has not filed for divorce.
Dida’s second wife Amina Halake, mother Habiba and firstborn son Luqman led members of the family in stating that they are working to get their breadwinner the assistance of a lawyer to push his appeal through.
“Mwalimu Dida was not represented in court because he was of the considered view that it was a small domestic dispute which would be resolved through dialogue. He is acting in person and I am aware that he has filed an appeal and he tells me the appeal has high chances of success,” Amina said.
“As a family, we are trying to find a way of maybe visiting him and find another lawyer, and be able to help him. There is a limit to what we can do, that is why we are asking for the government’s intervention,” she added.
Calls to a phone number Dida’s family shared with us, and which they say is the American woman’s, did not go through. Text messages we sent to the phone number seeking to verify its registered owner and requesting for an interview were not answered either.
Amina holds that after the fallout, Dida’s new wife successfully sought a restraining order which barred him from being near her or accessing their home.
She added that Dida insisted on accessing the home, and later a mosque she also attends, which opened a can of worms.
Amina said that she reached out to Dida’s American wife on several occasions to have the dispute resolved either through talks or Shariah law, but was unsuccessful.
Dida’s family insists that their breadwinner’s conviction and sentence was an over the top result of a domestic dispute that should have been resolved either through dialogue or in accordance with Shariah law.
Amina added that she learned of Dida’s incarceration through his American wife, after failing to reach him on phone for several days.
“Mwalimu Dida had been in constant contact with us and… he said there was an issue between him and his wife. Suddenly, we missed his calls. Mwalimu Dida is a family man, he has responsibilities and he took care of his responsibilities very diligently. But in 2022 when we missed his calls for over 10 days, we got worried because he had earlier reported that things were not very good between him and his new wife.”
“When I completely lost contact, I contacted mama Leila and that is when she confirmed to me that he is in safe hands, he is in custody,” Amina said.
Dida is tentatively to walk out of prison on April 3, 2029.
A petition the former Presidential candidate has filed seeking freedom to practise his religion reveals that Big Muddy is the third US facility to hold Dida.
Between April and October 2022, he was incarcerated at the East Moline Correctional Center before being moved to South Western Correctional Center.
The family alleges that Dida has been sickly, and denied medical care.
Habiba, now 81-year-old, said she hopes Kenya’s government can step in to get Dida necessary assistance as he suffers from Diabetes.
“Naomba serikali yangu iingilie hii maneno, na serikali ya Amerika ijue yeye (Dida) ni mgonjwa. Yuko na sukari, yuko na blood pressure. Amenyimwa vile anaweza pata dawa (I appeal to my government to intervene, and for the American government to understand that he is sick. He suffers from Diabetes and high blood pressure. He has been denied medical care),” she said.
The family said that despite the circumstances, Dida still makes an effort to communicate with his family when granted access to a phone by the Big Muddy prison officers.
“Whenever he gets an opportunity to call us, he does. He calls us like twice a month. He complained that he wasn’t feeling well, the last conversation I had with him. He was sick and he was even denied the right to go to hospital until he had to talk to a certain lawyer for him to be granted (permission) to get medical assistance,” Amina said.
