The protracted divorce case between Meru Senator Mithinka Linturi and former Chief of Staff at Deputy President William Ruto's office, Maryanne Kitany, took a new twist on Monday, February 24, after two magistrates recused themselves from the case.
A report by Citizen Digital indicated that Justice D.W Mburu cited personal reasons for his decision to step away from the case.
Magistrate Liza Gicheha, for her part, stated that she had previously handled a different matter involving one of the parties.
Their decision makes it a total of three judges who were scheduled to listen to the case but didn't. The third, Justice Peter Gesora, had listened to the testimonies of several witnesses before being transferred.
The case is now set to be heard by Magistrate Grace Mmasi who on Monday, February 24, 2020 stated that she needed time to acquaint herself with the case.
The recent hurdles are just among the many bumps that have characterized the divorce of Senator Linturi from his estranged wife Maryanne Kitany.
Since the relationship found itself on the rocks in December 2017, the public has played witness to a host of allegations.
These include claims of infidelity, theft as well as forgery when the two public figures grabbed the national limelight.
As per a report authored by the Daily Nation on August 28, 2019, Kitany accused Linturi of forging documents relating to a company to which he and her brother were co-directors.
She claimed that he then used the title deeds from this illegality to secure a loan. She confronted him about it and even got her parents involved.
“When I brought the matter to his attention, he moved to our Meru home," claimed Kitany stating that she held meetings with her husband on the matter but they did not amount to much.
Kitani also accused Linturi of infidelity providing information from her late house-help that Lintutri would invite women to their Meru home.
The house-help passed away a few days after allegedly revealing the information to Kitany.
Linturi has however maintained that he was never married to Kitany. The Meru Senator provided that he had only been married to one woman for 18 years and it was not Kitany.
He made further claims that Kitany had forged papers showing that he had divorced his other wife, Mercy Kaimenyi whom he married in 2005.
Linturi asserts that Kitany was only a "visitor" at his Meru home.
