The heart of the dispute is an alleged unfulfilled promise to marry, occupation of the house by another man, police bribery and a fight over recovery of the money.

📋 Breaking It Down

A Dutchman’s four-year relationship with a Kenyan woman has ended in a court battle over gifts, including Sh2.2 million he says he sent towards development of a matrimonial home they were to share as a couple after marriage.

But the woman, Ms SL, says the money was voluntarily given as gifts during their relationship and denies promising to marry the foreign national, Mr BD, or build a matrimonial house with him.

The heart of the dispute is an alleged unfulfilled promise to marry, occupation of the house by another man, police bribery and a fight over recovery of the money.

📌 What You Need to Know

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The dispute has since moved from the failed relationship to a criminal case in which Ms SL is accused of cheating and obtaining the money through trickery and a civil suit in which Mr BD is seeking Sh2.4 million compensation and recovery of a three-bedroom storey building from Ms SL in Vikwathani, Bamburi, Mombasa.

The High Court on Friday dismissed Ms SL’s attempt to stop the criminal proceedings, leaving the competing accounts of the relationship, money and property to be dealt with in the cases before the magistrate courts.

According to Ms SL’s account, the relationship began after Mr BD pursued her through relatives from 2019. She described him as a Dutch citizen who visits Kenya about once a year.

From late 2020 to mid-2023, she said, Mr BD used to send her money through M-Pesa, often Sh100, Sh200 or Sh1,000 for airtime or lunch "as his intended girlfriend".

She said Sh70,000 was also sent for the burial of Mr BD’s father, while other amounts were used to roof his own house at Likoni. She said they first met in person towards the end of 2022.

📰 Source: Nation Africa