Kenyan love rivals in wife-sharing deal

Two Kenyan men have agreed to share a woman in a written contract in which they vowed never to fight over her. The pair from Kisauni in the coastal Mombasa County, made the deal after realising they have both been having an affair with the woman for more than four years. The three are aged between 25 and 31.



Community policing officer Adhalah Abdulrahman said he came to know of the two during a fight. "I heard people fighting and went to check, but I was surprised to see two men fighting over a woman who is said to be a widow and a mother of twins. I tried solving the issue but they refused, each insisting he could not live without the woman,” said Mr Abdulrahman.

When asked to make a choice, the woman also declined, saying she could not live without either of the men. This made the men agree to take turns to live with her. Mr Sylvester Mwendwa, one of the ‘husbands’, said they decided to share the woman with Mr Elijah Kimani. Mr Mwendwa claimed he went to the woman’s parents and was given permission to live with her and pay bride price when he was ready.


YouTube link.

The agreement sets out a rota for Mr Mwendwa and Mr Kimani to stay in her house and states they will both help raise any children the woman, who has asked for anonymity, bears. Whereas polygamy, one man having more than one wife, is legal in Kenya and widely practised by various communities, polyandry, one woman having more than one husband, is almost unheard of. Lawyers said the two men would have to prove that it has been part of their custom to practise polyandry, otherwise the union would not stand.