Swala Nyeti: Layman and Lawyer Discuss Legal Questions

I own a private school in Embu where I had employed 25 full-time teachers. My school’s reputation is very good because of my teachers, and I have spent a lot of time and money training them. When corona happened, we agreed that they would go on unpaid leave until school resumed. However, the schools only opened virtually so I pay them only for the hours they teach and buy them bundles. My teachers are very good because I train them well but they are saying the money is not enough. They now want to work for other schools because the virtual classes are only one hour a day. I can’t afford to pay more, but I can’t allow them to work elsewhere. How can I stop them?

In this recap, we respond to questions raised after our episodes on landlord and tenants. Among the issues we explore are the meaning of a periodic lease,  what to do in cases of unlawful evictions, when a bank can exercise its statutory power of sale for a charged property, what a forced sale valuation means, controlled tenancies, distress, and orders.

Last October, when living in the US I had a whirlwind romance with an Ethiopian who had asylum in the US. One crazy night, we drove down to Las Vegas and had an overnight wedding. We agreed that we would come build a home here in Nyali, where I have a house. I left after a few months and he was supposed to follow me here. But now it’s been over six months and he keeps giving excuses why he can’t come. I got tired of his excuses and I am thinking I made a mistake and want to divorce him, but I don’t want to travel to the US. Can I do it here in Kenya?

My husband and I had a fairy tale romance. We were high school sweethearts. He was an athlete in high school who went on to become a famous architect. I started modelling at 16 and studied to become a doctor. Our wedding was the talk of town for years. We have success in our careers, lots of money and property but never got children. After 13 years, we both realized that we no longer love each other though we treat each other civilly. We sat and agreed that it’s best to end our marriage since we don’t want to live like brother and sister. Can we get divorced if we are not enemies?

One of our neighbors is a government officer who lives with a very young wife. Every morning, when the man goes to work, this wife sits outside in the balcony crying. She doesn’t speak English well but refuses to say what’s wrong but at night we hear her screaming as if they are fighting. We fear for her life but our friends tell us not to interfere in other people’s business. This has now been going on for the past five months and we are getting worried. We heard that you can divorce someone if they beat you? Before we go speak with her we need your advice on how we can help her to divorce him.

Four years ago I met this very dashing gentleman. After dating for a while, he proposed marriage and we visited my parents at home for blessings. He made sure to meet all our traditions, and even paid bride price in a lovely traditional ceremony. He didn’t stop there, but went ahead to give me a beautiful white wedding where I was the envy of all my friends. Now after living with him the past two years, I have discovered he had a dark secret. A woman confronted me on Facebook claiming that she is my husband’s legal wife for the past ten years. She says she was bedridden the past few years so had relocated to the village. My husband has confirmed it and I Am so disgusted I want to divorce him. Can I?

I am a landlord in Riruta of a commercial property. I have a difficult tenant who pays rent when he wants to. Last time I tried to evict him, he went to the business rent tribunal and got an injunction against me. Now since that order, he says he doesn’t have to pay rent for 1 years and it has been six months since he did. I am desperate. Can I kick them out?

I have been renting office space in Westlands where my team works from. Since the pandemic started though, I asked everyone to work from home. I tried to negotiate with my landlord to waive rent until things picked up but he refused to listen. In fact, he sent me auctioneers and when I went to the office to meet them, they also took the car I was driving claiming that it would settle the arrears of K.Shs. 500,000 that we had. I don’t mind settling the arrears but I bought this car for 1 million last year and it is practically still new. Is the auctioneer really allowed to sell my car at half price?

In today's episode, we look back at a discussion on tenancy law and whether a landlord can lock out his tenants when they fail to pay rent.

My wife and I worked very hard for many years, saving and denying ourselves. Eventually, we managed to construct fifty-one-roomed houses in Kangundo whose rent we depend on to support our children and grandchildren. Because I don’t like trouble, I vet my tenants very carefully. But in the past few months, none are paying. Everyone is crying corona, corona. I see other landlords locking the houses with a padlock, and then the tenant pays. I want to follow the law, so I am asking you this. 

Can I lock their houses?

This episode was first aired on August 26th, 2020. 

My wife and I bought an apartment in Kilimani 16 years ago on a 20 year mortgage. We have been paying more or less on schedule using money from our salaries and sometimes from the business. However when the pandemic struck I lost my job and my transport business is doing very badly. We started struggling to make payments until it we realized it made more sense to buy food instead. The last three months I have paid very little and then last week I got an email from the bank. They say that they are going to sell my house. I have tried to talk to them but they don’t seem to want to listen. Can they really sell after defaulting for just three months?