I Married Kenyan Woman Unknowingly- British Soldier Blames Swahili Language Barrier
A former British soldier who was once stationed in Nanyuki asserts that he unintentionally married a Kenyan woman and participated in the wedding ceremony due to a lack of understanding caused by language barriers.
The unnamed soldier was stationed in Nanyuki, where he formed a connection with a Kenyan woman. In 2022, he indicated a desire to return to the UK with her as his wife.
While completing his documentation, British authorities initially noticed the relationship, determining that he was guilty of bigamy, which involves marrying someone who is already married to another person.
By British legislation, engaging in bigamy is deemed a violation that can result in imprisonment.
The prosecutors overseeing the case contended that the soldier engaged in bigamy by taking part in an Islamic marriage ceremony without completing the divorce proceedings with his initial wife, whom he married in 2011.
The pair had already parted ways, but they had not completed the divorce proceedings when news of his new relationship emerged.
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The prosecution informed the Bulford Military Court in Wiltshire that the initial pair, who began their divorce proceedings in 2017, shared a child.
“He then proceeded to marry a second individual on October 29, 2021, whilst married to his first wife. In doing so he committed bigamy,” Prosecutor Flight Lieutenant Charlotte Adams told the court according to the Daily Mirror, a British newspaper.
“On October 29, 2021, a Sharia Law marriage ceremony called a nikah took place – this was a legal, recognized marriage ceremony. The marriage ceremony was a valid Kenyan marriage ceremony and in doing so he committed bigamy whilst his first wife was still alive and not divorced,” she added.
The sergeant defended himself by explaining that he did not know of the ceremony’s proceedings as it took place in Swahili, a language unfamiliar to him.
By the time the divorce papers were filed in 2022, the woman from Kenya was already expecting a child.
In the United Kingdom, individuals must be unmarried, widowed, or divorced and be at least 18 years old to be eligible for marriage.
I Married Kenyan Woman Unknowingly- British Soldier Blames Swahili Language Barrier
