On July 17, 2003, Virginia Edith Wambui Otieno, aged 67, made headlines in Kenya and beyond when she exchanged vows with Peter Mbugua.
Their union was highly unusual at the time, as they held a civil ceremony at the Attorney General’s Office in Nairobi.
At the time of her marriage, Wambui Otieno was a prominent lawyer in the country, while Peter Mbugua was working as a carpenter. Their relationship sparked public discourse due to the significant age difference of 39 years, which clashed with traditional African cultural norms that typically discourage men from marrying older women.
Some critics alleged that Mbugua had married Wambui for her wealth rather than love.
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However, in an interview with The New York Times, Wambui dismissed the criticism, saying their relationship was genuine.
“I’m much older than he is, but he loves me and I love him,” she told the publication.
She went on to explain how their relationship began.
“I hired him to fix my roof. But he was very kind to me. I was so sick, I couldn’t even wash my underwear. I couldn’t cook. It was he who made me huge again,” Wambui said, referring to the emotional and physical support Mbugua provided during her illness.
Wambui emphasised that while she did not marry Mbugua to advance the cause of African women, she welcomed the public conversation her marriage inspired, particularly around issues like polygamy and women’s rights.
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In February 2011, Wambui solemnised their marriage at St. Andrew’s PCEA Church.
Tragically, Wambui passed away due to heart disease on August 30, 2011, which effectively ended her marriage to Mbugua.
After her death, Mbugua faced legal disputes with Wambui’s children over her estate. The genesis of the conflict arose when Wambui distributed her wealth among her ten children and eight grandchildren.
She entrusted her home in Karen to her daughter Gladwell Otieno and her sons Jairus Ougo and Fredrick Munyua.
The Upper Matasia, Ngong, home, where she is buried, was given to Jane Nunga and Lewis Waiyaki.
This distribution angered Peter, leading him to file an objection on February 14, 2012, at the Milimani Law Court in Nairobi.
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He argued that Wambui lacked the mental capacity to draft the will due to illness when she created it just 72 days before her death (on June 19, 2011).
He specifically challenged the will’s equitable provisions for him as her husband, noting that assets, including properties and vehicles, were largely allocated to Wambui’s children and grandchildren.
In 2019, eight years after the passing of Edith Wambui Otieno, Peter Mbugua remarried, this time tying the knot with Ann Wangari Njuguna.
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Wambui Otieno was no stranger to public legal battles. In 1987, following the death of her first husband, Silvano Melea Otieno, she fought to have him buried on their farm in Ngong.
His family opposed this and insisted that he be buried at his ancestral home in Nyalgunga, Siaya District. Ultimately, the courts ruled in favour of the Umira Kager clan, affirming that Otieno be buried in Nyalgunga in accordance with Luo customs.
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