The viral tale of Esther Wanjiru’s marriage to her uncle for eight years has captivated online audiences. The incredulity stems from the fact that they shared a family, a revelation that dawned upon them only when Esther’s mother visited and disclosed their blood relationship.
Wanjiru’s origins trace back to Kinangop, but her family relocated to Nairobi when she was in Grade 4, following her father’s demise and her mother’s expulsion by the in-laws. Faced with life’s hardships, she abandoned her education and secured a job at a hotel in Naivasha, where she crossed paths with a man who seemed to be her ideal partner. They decided to live together as husband and wife, eventually becoming parents to three children. Curiously, they never visited Esther’s family during this entire period.
The revelation occurred when Esther gave birth to their third child, prompting her mother to pay them a visit. To her astonishment, she discovered that Esther had unknowingly married her own uncle. The shocking twist lay in the fact that Esther’s mother and her mother-in-law were relatives, making the man Esther thought was her husband actually her uncle.
Given the cultural taboos surrounding such relationships in many Kenyan communities, they received advice to divorce. Consequently, Esther and her three children parted ways with her erstwhile partner, relocating to Nairobi to embark on a new chapter in life.
Reflecting on the incident, Esther emphasized that they haven’t seen or communicated with each other since that day. She passionately urged people to involve their parents in the decision-making process before entering into marriage to avoid unforeseen complications.
