In-laws from hell tormenting Nyamira widow to vacate her home

Ms Robina Kwamboka, 65, has lived in agony for nearly two decades.  

The widow’s fate hangs in the balance and she can only live one day at a time. She is, however, hoping she is just having a bad dream that will end soon.

Her in-laws, who had earlier dispossessed her of her husband’s property, now want her out of her matrimonial home.

Having persistently resisted the move, some of her in-laws razed her granary as a signal that her time in that home was up. They told her they were “trying to kill a snake”.

A few days later, a fence was erected around her compound while she was away, blocking her access to her house and that of her son.

Her protests resulted in threats to her life. They wanted her to pack and leave immediately.

“All I want is justice. I need my husband’s share of land to sustain my two children,” says a dejected Kwamboka.

Her case depicts the struggles widows undergo, especially over property ownership. Those in Gusiiland have continued to bear the brunt of land conflicts, with some paying a heavy price for fighting for what rightfully belongs to them.

Cruelty

They have been exposed to cruelty and inhuman treatment each time a land ownership dispute takes an ugly turn. Some have been maimed and others murdered.

Police records indicate that close relatives are the main perpetrators.

Customary practices in the highly patriarchal community generally grant women secondary rights to land, making it difficult for women to inherit land.

While the Constitution gives them equal rights with men on inheritance of family property, this reality has yet to be embraced by the Abagusii community that remains culturally conservative and patriarchal.

Kwamboka’s tribulation is a case in point. It remains unresolved for years. Since she was widowed in 2004, her in-laws have been against her presence in her home in Masera/Metamaywa village, Nyamira County. She has lived there for 49 years.

Immediately after the burial of her husband, she was barred from accessing his property, including land, crippling her economically. This worsened when her father-in-law died.

Her three brothers-in-law subdivided the land (LR. No East Kitutu/Mwamang’era/626) among themselves. They then processed the subdivision into three parcels (LR. No East Kitutu/Mwamang’era/3700, 3701 and 3702). Aggrieved by this, she sought help from the local administration.

On receiving Ms Kwamboka’s complaint through the deputy county commissioner, land officials from Nyamira cancelled the subdivision, pending the resolution of the matter.

Son beaten up

But when the three brothers learnt of the complaint, they descended on her son, Vincent Osano, beat him to a pulp, leading to his hospitalisation.

On September 27, 2012, Ms Faith Kandagor, who was the Rigoma assistant county commissioner, visited the family over the matter. She advised that the land be divided into four equal portions so that Ms Kwamboka could get her share and a title under her name.

Much as the family agreed to the national government administrator’s conclusion, two brothers insisted on evicting her, continually destroying her possessions. On several occasions, area chief Peter Mokaya ordered their arrest for malicious damage to Ms Kwamboka’s property. They were locked up at Keroka Police Station but were never charged in court.

In a letter dated January 9, 2018, Ms Kandagor noted that “the family is stubborn, arrogant and reluctant to surrender the rightful share to Ms Kwamboka”. She directed that other avenues be explored if the in-laws failed to accord Kwamboka her share. To date, the widow is still in agony.

One of the in-laws, once again, subdivided the land into four sections and fenced it without consulting other family members, Kwamboka included. He then arrogated to himself his late brother’s portion. In the process, he burnt one of her stores and felled several trees behind her compound to pave the way for “proper fencing”.

To resolve the conflict, the area chief convened a baraza and summoned the family. He asserted that under no circumstances would Ms Kwamboka be evicted or dispossessed.

Uncooperative

“I note that the in-law is uncooperative and intends to chase the widow away. However, Ms Kwamboka must get her land without conditions,” he added.

In 2018, the in-laws sought to push for the subdivision of the land without the consent of the county land registrar.

They snubbed the Federation of Women Lawyers (Fida–Kenya), which convened a session to have the matter resolved. “Whereas I summoned them, they never showed up. I requested the area chief to write a letter indicating that she is the rightful beneficiary of her husband’s land,” Ms Janet Anyango, a Kisumu-based advocate with Fida, stated in a letter.

At some point, one brother-in-law told Ms Kwamboka to relocate to another land, which was “very small and unproductive”. She cannot understand why she must leave her matrimonial home for a strange land.

“I left for them all the other properties and parcels of land my husband owned. Why are they so insistent that I leave even the little where my house stands?” she laments.

Mzee Daniel Abisai, a neighbour and elder, terms it grievous that people close to the poor widow are frustrating her. “Let him know that he is mortal as well. We can curse him, and he will live to regret what he is doing to Kwamboka,” he said.

Mama Beatrice Moraa says: “It is an abomination to chase a widow from her husband’s land. That family should pray that their daughters never get widowed and face the same fate. Even then, they will never know peace.”

Another resident says the current local and county administration seems completely helpless, yet they have the mandate to settle the matter.

“They know that this is a serious injustice and an abuse of fundamental human rights but chose to be indifferent,” says Joshua Onchiri, the chairman of the local Catholic Church where Ms Kwamboka worships. 

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