– A Kibera slum-dweller was attacked by his family when he took his new wife home 

– He and his wife had been married two years and had two sons

– The man’s family, however, attacked him upon arrival when they realised he had married his first cousin

– Attempting to explain the situation to him only afforded him more vicious beatings

A man in Luo Nyanza was viciously beaten by his father and other clan members after he attempted to defend his two-year marriage to his cousin.

According to the Standard on Friday, August 12, the jua-cali laborer and his wife had met two years prior, dated for a few months and ‘married’ before conceiving two children.

“Our romance was whirlwind. Within three months of meeting we had moved in together. She always wanted to meet my parents but I was too broke to take her home. We had a come-we-say-marriage in the slum we lived in,” said the man as quoted on the news site.

He narrated how he had to work hard after becoming a married man and at the same time, avoiding the issue of taking her home to his parents because his family had issues among each other.

“When I was young, my siblings and I were often told my father’s brothers had moved on and settled in different of the country never to return so we hardly knew our relatives apart from seeing them in photographs,” continued the man.

Two years later, he told his family back in rural Kenya that he was bringing home a wife, and they couldn’t be any happier.

“I wanted to meet my wife’s side of the family because now I had something in my pockets. As our custom dictates, all my relatives were there to receive me. However, their reception turned cold once everyone set their eyes on my wife,” said the man.

His family began talking about his wife, saying “there is his relative accompanying him to bring home his wife”.

“The murmurs turned loud and my faher had to quell them, acknowledging that my wife had indeed accompanied me. He said, ‘welcome home too Akeyo. I hope my brother is fine thought it has been a long time before I last communicated with him’. He then turned to me and asked me where my wife was,” explained the man.

He then noticed his wife turn white with fear, crying. She silently picked up their two sons and ran away with them.

“I told my family that the woman they were saying is my cousin was my wife. I told them I don not even know my father’s brother who is supposed to be my wife’s father because I never met him and his family,” said the man.

His clan let out great ululations claiming he had committed incest and when he thought of going after his wife, he opted to remain behind and explain the situation to his father.

“I tried explaining to them the situation but my father descended on me with blows and kicks. He beat me to near unconsciousness then disowned and excommunicated me. Later I followed my wife back to Kibera to explain to her that I did not know what my clan was talking about,” concluded the man.

In a recent High Court ruling in Nairobi, a judge rules that sexual relationships between cousins is not illegal despite it being a taboo in a majority of Kenyan cultures.

He reasoned that some religions such as Hindus and Muslims married each other and that was why Parliament did not list relationships between cousins an offense in an Act of Parliament.