By Arnold Ageta
A Kenyan woman has taken her German boyfriend to court for failing to fulfill his child support responsibilities. Anne Wanjugu Kariuki, the applicant, and Johannes Bulman, the respondent, began dating in 2020 after meeting on a dating site. They welcomed a son in September 2021.
In her sworn affidavit filed in court by Elkana Mogaka and Associates Advocates, Anne Wanjugu alleges that the defendant, Johannes Bulman, has neglected his paternal duties and left her to bear the entire financial burden of raising their child.
“The defendant has absconded totally to take up any responsibilities and to date I have been the one paying for food, electricity, house girl, rent, internet, health/medical costs,” read the affidavit.
The affidavit further states that the defendant, as a father, has been irresponsible and failed to provide for their child. The applicant says that their relationship ended after she discovered that the defendant was married with children.
“The reasons for the breakdown of the relationship was due to the fact that the defendant was verbally abusive to me,” she claims. “The Defendant’s wife would constantly threaten me through her social media platforms.”
She acknowledges, however, that the defendant used to support her after she gave birth, and she would receive between KES 25,000 and 35,000 monthly.
In his statement, Johannes Bulman denies Anne’s claims, stating that he has never been violent towards her and that his wife has never threatened her.
“I have always consistently and promptly sent the plaintiff money as my contribution towards the maintenance of the child who is the subject in this suit,” Bulman’s statement read.
Bulman distances himself from Anne’s claims, saying that their relationship ended when he discovered that she was consuming alcohol during her pregnancy and that she refused to stop despite his objections.
“The Plaintiff, immediately upon becoming pregnant and even after giving birth, developed an extortionist trait whereby she started demanding too much money from me, every single moment,” says Bulman.
He further argues that Anne adopted a sustained strategy of threats and blackmail against him in her extortion attempts, including stalking his wife through social media platforms, obtaining and sending his wife’s photos, and declaring that she would reveal everything about his activities with her to his wife unless he sent her KES 150,000.
“The plaintiff’s act of liaising with her aunt in Germany to blackmail me, stalk my wife and threaten that she would inform my wife a about my private activities with her,” Bulman cites another reason for break up.
Bulman claims that Anne knew from the beginning that he was married and had children and that this cannot be the reason why their relationship ended.
“As a fact the plaintiff is well aware that our relationship was purely for pleasure and not to procreate with no intention to procreate at all,” he emphasized.
He admits, however, that they met on Tinder and had a brief affair in 2020, which resulted in the conception and birth of the child who is the subject of this lawsuit.
“I particularly didn’t want the plaintiff to sire a child with me since I noticed, after a few months of interacting with her, that she couldn’t control her alcohol intake level. And her requests for money were too much and too frequent,” he added.
Further he says: “I categorically and expressly informed her and we both agreed that our relationship was purely a fling, and no child was to be conceived or born, particularly after I noticed her weird behavior.”
Bulman states that he used to pay for the applicant’s birth control (contraceptive pills) by giving her money to buy them, and she assured him that she was taking them.
“She got pregnant which confirms she never used to take the pills,” he concludes.
Regarding the alleged absconding of responsibilities, Bulman says that these are false claims and an act of perjury.
“The truth is that I have been providing for the minor’s needs, and the plaintiff is fully aware that I have been sending her my contribution for maintenance of the minor ever since the minor was born, to date,” he said in his statement.
He adds that in September 2023, he purchased and delivered to the plaintiff a large quantity of clothes for the child, weighing around 50 kilograms. This amount was sufficient to clothe the child for the next two years until the child reaches 4 years old. The assorted clothes were in sizes 2, 3, and 4 for a boy.
Bulman claims that even after losing his job in 2023, he would borrow money from his wife and friends to ensure that he sent money to Anne for the child’s upkeep.
“The truth is that the plaintiff has become insatiable and decided to extort me, by making unrealistic monetary demands to me, coupled with threats and blackmail which has caused me depression and suffering and even affected my relationship with my wife,” he pleads.
He says he cannot afford the amount that Anne is requesting the court to award her because he is currently unemployed.
“The Plaintiff’s budget/expenditure which she shared with me on July 31st, 2023 amounted to KES 47,000 (correct sum is 46,000), and this is what should be reviewed by the Court,” recorded.
He asked the court to allow them both to share responsibility as parents, so that he can pay half the amount (KES 23,000) and Anne can pay the other half.
Anne further asks the court to grant her legal and actual custody, care, and control of the child pending the hearing and determination of this matter.
“The defendant do pay interim maintenance fee of KES 100,000 per month being child support for the child pending determination of this matter through the Plaintiff’s advocate,” the notice of motion read.
The motion, dated January 30, 2024, further stated that the monthly maintenance fee should be deducted from the defendant’s rental property worth KES 200,000.00 and the remainder remitted to him.
Meanwhile, Bulman is asking the court, as a gesture of good faith, good intent, and love for peace, to consider alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, particularly negotiations facilitated by his and Anne’s advocates, or through court-annexed mediation, to resolve this matter expeditiously.
The matter is before the Milimani Law Courts.
