As lovebirds marked the Valentine’s day in style, it was a different narrative for one Winfred Musembi .
Ms Musembi, 48, from Vota in Machakos County was divorced by her husband of eight years for allegedly not being able to bear him a ‘boy child’.
Memories of events that transpired 15 years ago are still fresh in the mind of the mother of 4 girls. She was kicked out of the marriage with an immediate replacement.
“We formally married through a Church wedding and our marriage was full of life until i gave birth to a Fourth daughter, my husband was giving me a lot of pressure to bear him a son” she narrates.
With full knowledge that it is a man that determines gender of the child , Winfred kept praying that her husband will one day come to terms with the situation.
To add salt to injury , one of the four lovely daughters succumbed to an illness. The 14 years old marriage was in the rocks for all that time.
Her husband David Musembi opted to marry another woman in bid to sire a son. That was the last stroke that broke Winfreds back literally.
Luck was not on her side , the sick and depressed woman fell ill of a health condition that saw her spend most of her time admitted in Machakos hospital.
While at the hospital , her husband married another woman, her children lived in agony and in the year 2006, her left leg was amputated.
After being discharged from hospital, her home of 14 years was a no go zone. Her love of life had turned sour. She was kicked out of the compound.
The mother in-law came to her rescue and accommodated Winfred with her three daughters. They could go without meals and the children had to drop out of school.
” I lived with my mother in law for some time, and most of the time we were forced to beg for food, as well as sleeping in the cold as we could not access the house” she said.
“I was later forcefully evicted from our Katumani home in Machakos by my husband forcing me to leave my three daughters under the care of their stepmother.” narrated Winfred .
On this Valentine’s day, Winfred urges couples to embrace true love no matter what comes their way.
She now lives with her mother in Vota area which is eight kilometers away from her husbands home.
” For over 10 years now, i have never seen my daughters. The enraged husband can not allow them to even visit me. I live with my old and weary mother who helps me with everything” said Winfred.
She is now calling on the human rights lobby groups to intervene so that she can be reunited with her children.