Supreme Court: Sharing of matrimonial property should be pegged on individual’s contribution to the marriage

Milton Nyakundi
January 27, 2023 ·1 min read ·59 views
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Supreme Court judges Mohamed Ibrahim, Smokin Wanjala, Njoki Ndung’u and Isaac Lenaola./Courtesy

The Supreme Court of Kenya on Friday, January 27 ruled that in divorce cases, each partner should leave the marriage with property equivalent to their individual contribution in the union.

The court said spouses are thus not automatically entitled to half of matrimonial property upon split.

The petition at the apex court arose from a divorce dispute between Joseph Ombogi Ogentoto and his ex-wife Martha Bosibori.

Ogentoto took the matter to the Supreme Court after the Court of Appeal ordered that the house in which he had lived with his ex-wife of 18 years and the rental units be shared equally between them on a 50:50 ratio.

The Friday Supreme Court decision will, moving forward, act as the guidelines for distribution of matrimonial property between divorced spouses.

The Standard

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About the Author

Milton Nyakundi

Milton Nyakundi Oriku is a veteran multimedia journalist with over 20 years’ experience across broadcast, digital, and print media. He is the founder and Managing Editor of Kurunzi News and serves as its Senior International Correspondent based in the United States. He previously worked at the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), rising to Assistant News Editor, and later served as Copy Editor at Mediamax Network. His career includes freelance commentary for major outlets such as KTN, and consultancy roles with Football Kenya Federation, StarTimes Kenya, and UAP‑Old Mutual. He is known for incisive political and sports reporting and evidence‑driven journalism.

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