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

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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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Milton Nyakundi

Milton Nyakundi is a veteran multimedia journalist with over 20 years of experience across broadcast, digital, and print media, who relocated to the United States in 2022 and is now the Senior International Correspondent for Kurunzi News based in Washington, DC, USA. He has previously worked with the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), among other high-profile roles with Kenya's first privately-owned media outlet - Kenya Television Network. His experience also include prominent roles as Media Consultant for Football Kenya Federation (FKF), and StarTimes Kenya. His career spans high‑stakes political reporting covering legislative and constitutional issues, elections, governance, and accountability across Kenya, Africa, and global arenas. He also boasts extensive sports journalism experience, covering local and international sports events, including leagues, tournaments and sports governance. He is well-known for his investigative depth, editorial leadership, and evidence-driven journalism that guides his consistent delivery of public‑interest storytelling across platforms.

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