Nairobi Mother Says Husband Abandoned Her During Childbirth, Paid Dowry for Another Woman

A Kenyan mother has recounted the emotional and financial hardship she allegedly endured after her husband left her struggling to pay hospital bills following childbirth, only for her to later discover signs that he was preparing to marry another woman.

Salome Wambui, a mother of two from Njoro in Nakuru County, Kenya, said she moved to Nairobi in 2024 to build a home with her husband after dating him for about a year. However, she told Kenyan news outlet TUKO.co.ke that their relationship deteriorated during her pregnancy, leaving her increasingly isolated and struggling to meet basic needs.

According to Salome, her husband began spending less time at home after taking up work driving public service vehicles along the Kitengela route. She said he eventually visited only about once a week and declined her suggestion that they relocate closer to his workplace.

The situation became more difficult when Salome was five months pregnant and lost her grandmother, who had raised her following her mother’s death. She said her husband did not attend the burial and later told her he intended to move out.

Having left her job in Nakuru when she relocated to Nairobi, Salome said she had no steady income to support herself as her pregnancy progressed. Her sister became an important source of assistance, helping her with food and other basic needs.

Salome said she began experiencing frequent bleeding when she was pregnant, raising concerns about her health and that of her unborn child. She eventually gave birth about a month before her expected delivery date after doctors induced labour.

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The most distressing experience, according to her account, came when she needed money to pay the hospital admission deposit. She said she contacted her husband, but he claimed he had been arrested in Athi River and did not provide the money she needed.

With the hospital bill still outstanding, Salome said she approached a woman who operated an M-Pesa shop in the building and borrowed money to pay the deposit. She gave birth that night.

Her husband reportedly visited the following day, saw the newborn and left without providing money for the immediate expenses.

Salome said she subsequently had to borrow more money to settle the discharge bill and meet basic needs for herself and the baby. She also discovered that some household belongings, including a television, gas cylinder and cooker, were missing from their home.

According to her account, her husband returned when the baby was about six weeks old and brought back the television. They lived together for approximately another month before he left again, later taking the television away.

As the debts accumulated, Salome said she eventually sold her refrigerator to repay people who had assisted her during her hospital stay. She recalled that her husband questioned her decision to sell the appliance without consulting him, despite the financial difficulties she said she had faced.

Her suspicions about another woman reportedly grew after she noticed that her husband was protective of his phone. Salome said she later saw messages between him and another woman’s mother that appeared to indicate money was being sent following requests.

She contrasted the alleged financial support with what she received during her pregnancy, saying her husband gave her about KSh150 a day and did not buy supplies for the expected baby.

Salome said she sometimes skipped meals to save money for baby clothes, relying on her sister and other people for assistance.

The situation took another turn about a month after her husband left for good. Salome said she came across a photograph he had posted showing him dressed in matching outfits with another woman. She suspected that a dowry ceremony had taken place, although the details of the reported ceremony were not independently established in her account.

She also said she later learnt that her husband had converted to Islam and changed his name.

Salome, who had worked in different jobs in Nakuru before moving to Nairobi, said she had expected marriage to offer stability and an opportunity to raise a family. Instead, she said, she was left to care for her children while depending heavily on her sister’s support.

Despite the experience, Salome said she did not want to resume the relationship, explaining that the future she had hoped to build with her husband had not materialised.

Her account highlights the financial pressure, emotional distress and practical challenges she says she experienced during pregnancy, childbirth and the breakdown of her marriage. She is now focused on raising her children and rebuilding her life.