Bring nothing to a marriage, walk away with nothing, Judge rules
Crime and Justice
By
Kamau Muthoni
| Feb 15, 2026
There is a likelihood that you may walk out of that marriage with nothing or just the way you came, a High Court Judge has ruled.
In a landmark judgment that further reshapes the matrix for sharing matrimonial wealth between couples, Justice Reuben Nyakundi has said that whatever is acquired during a marriage does not automatically become matrimonial property.
Instead, he has said, one must show efforts to either support a spouse both financially or on non-monetary terms in a bid to claim a part of the wealth generated during a marriage.
According to him, ‘remote controllers’ should not expect that they will benefit from anything if the marriage breaks down.
The Judge said that the Matrimonial Property Act does not bar either a husband or a wife from acquiring individual assets or wealth during a marriage and disposing of them.
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Nevertheless, he said, anything that is under an individual name does not necessarily pass as a trust to the other unless there is evidence to show one contributed or supported the other spouse in purchasing the same.
He said that a marriage should not be seen as a business transaction upon divorce, adding that it should not be construed that the person with less financial muscle in a marriage is being discriminated against. According to the judge, there should be a truly exceptional or stellar contribution to the acquisition of the assets.
“However, it must be understood that none of the spouses should stay at home doing nothing, and when it comes to matrimonialised estate, she demands an equal share. It might sound as if the other stay-at-home spouse has been discriminated against within the provisions of Article 27 of the constitution but in my view, that is not the case.
I need to reiteratethat homemaking, child bearing, companionship, etc., in a marriage union are legally considered as being of value if in essence it paves the way for the other spouse to endeavour in wealth creation or income generation for the family,” said Justice Nyakundi.
The judge was determining a case where a woman was demanding a share of 33 properties from her ex-husband.
She claimed that they first bought a house worth Sh 25 million, then continued to extend their wealth.
According to her, the properties were jointly acquired although they had been registered in the man’s name. She claimed they had five children.
On the other hand, the man painted a picture of a cruel wife at home after their marriage in 2008. He said that she came with two children from another marriage, which allegedly eroded his trust.
At the same time, the man lamented that she denied him conjugal rights and deserted their home in 2009 without a child from him.
He asserted that within that one year in marriage, they lived in an inherited property, which was not a matrimonial home, adding that all that had been listed was also inherited.
He accused her of selling off some of his wealth, which allegedly caused him ill health. He told the court there was nothing to share with her.
After hearing rival submissions, the Judge agreed with the man. He said that based on the time they had lived together and the man’s lamentation that he got nothing, even sex, from her, she ought to go with nothing.
“It must also be appreciated that the marriage union does not limit the individual rights and fundamental freedoms. The two spouses to a marriage have a right to own individual properties, and this question of matrimonial property should be debunked on the basis that either of the spouses can acquire their own individual property without the assistance of any one of them,” said Justice Nyakundi.