From divorce to criminal trials: American woman's long legal battle in Kenyan courts
Crime and Justice
By
Julius Chepkwony
| Mar 19, 2026
For nearly a decade, Jacqueline Mack Damon’s life has been defined by courtrooms. The 74-year-old American investor has spent years fighting legal battles in Kenya, from divorce and company wrangles to criminal charges.
The saga began after the retired World Bank economist filed for a divorce case against Jean François Damon in May, 2015, following more than 40 years of marriage.
Earlier this month, a court in Naivasha cleared Jacqueline of the latest criminal accusations of a conspiracy to accuse her former husband of rape and attempt to influence witnesses.
The prosecution had alleged that between February 15 and February 25, 2021, at the Sleeping Warrior Lodge in Gilgil, she approached Damon’s guards and tried to convince them to report their employer for sexual assault.
One witness, Peter Malit, said she offered him and another worker Sh200,000 each if they recorded statements at the Gilgil Police Station.
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He said they declined because the claim was untrue and later reported the matter to their employer before filing a report with the police.
However, under cross-examination, he admitted that no employment contract was presented in court and that no other witnesses were present when the alleged proposal was made. Several other lodge workers also testified.
But Jacqueline denied the accusations, arguing that the prosecution had failed to present credible evidence.
She pointed to investigative gaps, including the absence of M-Pesa transaction records or recordings to support the claims.
The court agreed that the case fell short of the legal threshold required for a criminal conviction. It noted that most prosecution witnesses were current or former employees of the lodge jointly owned by Jacqueline and Damon.
Jacqueline and the co-accused, Peter Kagori, were acquitted.
The acquittal follows another legal reprieve for Jacqueline in November, 2024, when prosecutors withdrew a separate assault case against her.
She had been accused of assaulting Sam Achishire, a 32-year-old employee of her former husband, in July, 2021, near the Gilgil lodge.
Beyond the criminal cases, Jacqueline and her former husband have also clashed over control of Mawe Mbili Ltd, the company that operated the lodge in Soysambu Conservancy.
In March, 2023, Jacqueline won a key ruling in the High Court after she accused Damon of sidelining her in the management of the company and embezzling funds.
Justice Alfred Mabeya barred him from selling or transferring company assets and suspended the appointment of two directors until the case was heard.
The judge also ordered the Registrar of Companies to reverse changes made to the records.
The couple’s dispute also involved property in France and the US. After their divorce in 2018, Jacqueline filed a case in Kenya seeking to stop her former husband from interfering with matrimonial assets.
She claimed the couple owned several properties abroad and accused him of selling French property and pocketing all the proceeds.
Among the issues raised was a prenuptial agreement signed in France in 1974, just days before their wedding. Jacqueline argued she had signed the document without independent legal advice as a young student.
However, in 2022, the High Court ruled that Kenyan courts could not determine disputes involving immovable property in foreign jurisdictions. Jacqueline and Damon married in France in June, 1974 and later established businesses in Kenya from 2007.