Kaparo aged 71, the former National Assembly Speaker, and his wife, Mary Mpereina Kaparo, have exchanged nasty insults as their marriage faces separation.
Three years ago, Mpereina filed a divorce lawsuit in the Kiambu Chief Magistrate’s Court, Case Number HCCC 36 of 2018.
The Mpereina seeks divorce on the grounds of mistreatment, neglect, and infidelity. The petitioner (Mpereina) and respondent (Kaparo) have been married for over 40 years, dating back to 1981.
As per the court documents, Mpereina married Kaparo according to Samburu/Maasai customs before sealing the relationship with a Catholic Church wedding.
According to the petitioner, the marriage was happy until December 2015, when the former NCIC chair moved out of their marital home.
She claims that their marriage produced four children: Bernard Kaparo, 37, Stella Kaparo, 35, Saidima Kaparo, 32, and Susan Kaparo, 30.
Love Gone Sour
Kaparo, accuses his estranged wife of infidelity, among other things.
The petitioner has been involved in extramarital relations with men known to herself and the respondent, to the extent of having children out of marriage, a fact that she has variously admitted
Kaparo
He stated in his affidavit sworn in front of commissioner of oaths Joseph Makumi on April 4, 2019.
Kaparo, on the other hand, is opposed to any dna tests on his children, claiming that the petitioner is attempting to turn a divorce into a property dispute.
“The petitioner appears to be more concerned about succession than the children she wishes to drag into the matrimonial dispute,” he said in his replying affidavit, which was filed through his lawyer, Letangule & Company Advocates.
“I reiterate that the petitioner has been involved in adulterous relations, regardless of the issue of children, and any call for a DNA test is diversionary,” he insisted.
DNA or No DNA ?
He also claims that his estranged wife’s demand for a paternity test will cause unnecessary family strife.
In a sworn affidavit, he stated, “The truth of the petitioner’s allegations can be ascertained without the use of a DNA test, which is likely to result in unintended consequences in the family.”
He stated that his estranged wife, a former teacher and businessman, is more concerned with the marital property than with the divorce.
The former speaker has asked the court to dismiss the dna test application, claiming that it was “done in bad faith with the objective of creating bad blood between myself and the children I have raised over the years.”
It Was Never A Bed Of Roses
Kaparo says that during his 40-year marriage to the petitioner, 37 of those years were blighted by cruelty done by the petitioner.
“Since 1984, the petitioner’s and respondent’s parents have frequently counseled her in vain to assist her cease the abovementioned cruelty,” he stated.
Kaparo claims he tried to save the relationship, but his efforts were thwarted by his wife.
“The petitioner cannot listen to anyone and never seeks advice,” he stated, “further undermining all efforts at reconciliation.”
The matter will be heard again on May 17, 2022.
Its ironical that Francis Kaparo served as the chairman for the National Cohesion Integration Commission before Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia took overfrom him.
NCIC functions revolve around building cohesion and social integration.