Some shit u see on tv is real
A woman in Bura, Tana River County, was on Sunday fined Sh150,000 after she was found guilty of making up infidelity claims to wreck her cousin’s marriage.
A village women council found the 32-year-old guilty of peddling malicious claims suggesting she was in a romantic relationship with her cousin’s husband.
If she fails to pay the fine, the woman will be excommunicated from the village.
The ‘convict’, a trader in Bura Market is said to have been stalking the man who chose to turn down her advances.
The women council heard that the conniving woman had invited her cousin’s husband to her house feigning sickness, and tipped off neighbours to witness his arrival in her house in the night to suggest an affair.
Also, the accused is said to have generated text messages and edited WhatsApp screenshots, and shared them with people close to her cousin, leading to fights.
According to Peter Mungai, a friend of the aggrieved man, the woman used a sim card registered in the victim’s ID card to send herself money and text messages.
“She had asked him to register a line for her sometime back, so she took advantage of the favour to rock the marriage,” said Mungai.
The man’s wife is said to have believed that the husband was cheating on her with the cousin.
To make matters worse, when she confronted her, the accused admitted and showed her the messages and transactions purporting it was the man who was pestering her to make her his second wife.
The woman packed her belongings, left her matrimonial home and with her two children left for her parents’ home in early September.
It was then that the man, a teacher, sought the help of his friends in restoring his marriage.
Their investigations led them to the accused’s sister who revealed to them that her sister was on a revenge mission.
The aggrieved man travelled with elders to bring back his wife last Monday before reporting the matter to the women’s council composed of church and business leaders.
The accused and the man and his wife were in attendance during the hearing.
Asked to verify her claims, the accused presented the texts and the number she claimed belonged to the man.
She claimed that the aggrieved man had switched off the number and no longer communicated after their ‘secret’ was exposed.
The women’s caucus confirmed that the number was registered under the man, but it was switched off.
But little did the accused know that the caucus had used her sister to deliver the phone to them, and verified that on several occasions, she deposited money to the line and sent it to herself minutes later.
Her sister also testified against her, noting that the accused had personal issues with the victims.
“She claims that the man was supposed to marry her as he looked attracted to her the first day they met. She says even when the man was in college, she sent him upkeep money only for her cousin to throw herself at him,” said the sister.
However, the aggrieved man refuted the claims noting that he only borrowed bus fare from her to attend an interview and has never shown her any affection.
The man noted that he has never sent any money to the woman and neither has he engaged her in a romantic conversation.
Pressed for the truth, the accused confessed to frustrating the marriage noting that she was “entitled to the man”.
“My cousin knew I was in love with this man, but she went ahead and took him instead of letting us find our way to happiness,” she said.
She confessed to owning the sim card and generating the messages to break the marriage and have the man to herself.
The man’s wife on the other hand noted that she did not interrupt any relationship and had no initial knowledge that her cousin was interested in the man.
“Had I known, you know me very well, I would have left him for you, but you never shared your feelings with me but waited to frustrate the marriage seven years down the line, which is wrong and unfair,” she said.
The Women Council fined the accused Sh150,000 with an alternative of ex-communication in the event she fails to pay the money in 90 days.
According to the chairperson of the council Phelgonah Waithera, the suspect will not be accorded any help from the village in raising the money.
“If she fails, we shall not buy from her shop or engage with her in any activity. We shall not stand with her in her time of need; we shall curse her and this decision will be shared with other communities as well,” Ms Waithera said.
The fine will be handed over to the aggrieved woman by the women council as a token of apology from the accused pending a public reconciliation ceremony.