Ending wife inheritance in Kenya

Tom Onyango campaigns to end the custom of wife inheritance, which puts people at risk of contracting HIV [CAFOD]

Tom Onyango, 32, was forced to marry a second wife after his first died. Now he campaigns to end the custom of wife inheritance, which puts people at risk of contracting HIV

The custom of wife inheritance means that if a wife dies, the widower is paid to take another wife from his in-laws.

If a husband dies, the elders sit and choose another husband for the widow from their clan. The couple must have sexual intercourse when one of the elders are watching.

This practice puts people at increased risk of contracting the HIV virus which is why CAFOD partner, the Movement of Men Against AIDS in Kenya (MMAAK), is campaigning to do something about it.

The role of poverty

Tom is a volunteer for MMAAK. He comes from Kano/Angola in the outskirts of Kisumu, where wife inheritance is a common occurrence.

It often happens as a result of poverty and Tom is no exception. Orphaned at an early age, Tom and his sister stayed with an aunt who did not send them to school.

“Life was very difficult,” Tom explained. “One day, we had nothing to eat and my aunt was away so we had to run after a rat on the roof and have it for our supper because we had nothing else".

Tom eventually married and was happy with his wife. But she became ill and was tested HIV-positive. She died without having told Tom she had the virus - her sister told Tom several years later.

“Immediately after my wife’s burial, the elders and my in laws forced me to have a new wife, a relative of my late wife. I had to do it because of culture but I didn’t like it at all.” says Tom.

Own choice

This marriage was not happy. Eventually Tom's wife left and Tom was told to take a third wife. This time he refused and said he would only take a wife of his own choice.

At this time, he also discovered he was HIV-positive. He did not know when he had contracted the virus but was aware that the wife inheritance practice was putting him and others at risk.

“I decided to take more control of my life. I went to a support group where I met my current wife Lillian who was also an HIV counsellor,” explained Tom.

Tom then heard about MMAAK and felt he really wanted to get involved.

“Through my experience of wife inheritance, I didn’t want others to go through it as well – it is quite common in this area and I wanted to help prevent it because it makes people very vulnerable to contracting HIV.

“I’m now working for MMAAK championing a group of wife inheritors and group elders who discourage bad cultural practices like wife inheritance, early marriages and forced marriage.

"I think this work will help reduce the rate of HIV infections. The culture of wife inheritance nearly destroyed me but I found a way out and now try and help others from falling into the same trap.”

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