Two love rivals in Kenya have struck a bizarre deal to share a wife after the woman refused to choose between the men.
Sylvester Mwendwa and Elijah Kimani from Kisimani in Kisauni, Mombasa County, signed a written contract last week after realising they have both been having an affair with the same woman for more than four years.
According to the contract, the men will take turns to stay with the woman, who is a widow with two kids. They also agreed to respect one another and raise her children.
The trio is aged between 25 and 31, said community policing officer Adhalah Abdulrahman who came to know of the issue during a fight, Kenyan newspaper 'The Daily Nation' reported.
"I heard people fighting and went to check, but I was surprised to see two men fighting over a woman who is said to be a widow and a mother of twins. I tried solving the issue but they refused, each insisting he could not live without the woman," said Abdulrahman.
When asked to make a choice, the woman - who does not wish to be identified - also declined, saying she could not live without either of the men. This made the men agree to take turns to live with her.
Mwendwa claimed he went to the woman's parents and was given permission to live with her and pay bride price when he was ready.
According to Abdulrahman, the other man, Kimani, was also allowed to live with her and pay the bride price when ready.
While polygamy - one man having more than one wife - is legal in Kenya and widely practised by various communities, polyandry - one woman having more than one husband - is almost unheard of.
Lawyers said the two men would have to prove that it has been part of their custom to practise polyandry, otherwise the union would not stand.
A family lawyer, Judy Thongori, told the paper that polyandry is more abnormal than illegal since the laws that govern marriage in Kenya do not clearly forbid it.
"The laws we have do not talk about it but for such a union to be recognised in Kenya, it has to be either under the statutory law or as customary marriage. The question we should ask now is whether these people come from communities that have been practising polyandry," she said.
