Joyce Gituro has been a blessing to many Swahili radio lovers but it is during the peak of her career for over a decade that she went through a nasty divorce that left her plagued by debts and unanswered questions.
Today, Joyce speaks of her divorce with a smile and bits of laughter but it was not always like this for the last 12 years.
“In 2008, I spent every day of the year crying,” she narrates to Monicah Kagoni, a YouTuber running Metha Ya Kagoni show.
Joyce who worked for Royal Media Services-owned radio station for over a decade and went on to become its head recounts that her separation with her husband of many years was occasioned by a church.
They met in Yala but later came to Nairobi and their love brewed leading to marriage. She described her ex-husband as the man who brought her closer to God and was a good man all though until one day when he joined a populous church in the city.
Joyce recalls having a discussion with the husband who asked her to join a new church in town and for a moment, she couldn’t understand why they had to leave but she obliged.
“I was a submissive wife,” she remarks adding that the new church did not impress her right from the start.
“When we went there, I had my doubts,” Joyce opines adding that she knew the word of God well and disagreed with the preaching at the new church. She talked to her husband about it but he remained adamant.
Her last day at the church, she recalls, was a Sunday when the pastor directed that the doors and windows be closed and congregants ‘cough out the devil’. Joyce together with her two kids walked out of the Church and never returned for another service.
This was the beginning of her fallout with her husband who continued to go to the church.
One day, the husband took Ksh27,000 from their savings without telling Joyce and bought a TV set for the pastor. Joyce has planned to use part of the money to clear school fees for her children.
When she confronted him, he said that he took the money to buy a TV set for the pastor and it pained Joyce but she let it go.
Before long, she would find herself at Kilimani Police Station on allegations of being in possession of a car illegally. But how did it happen?
Joyce had started a side car hire business and took loans from a sacco to purchase vehicles which she would hire out for a daily fee.
She sent her husband to buy the vehicles which he never did; he would hire the vehicle for months and present a logbook of the vehicle and take it back.
It is only when she was summoned in Kilimani Police Station that she discovered her husband had had myriad cases on debts and dubious dealings. She lost three of her vehicles and was left with loans to service.
One day, her husband waited for her to leave home together with the kids. He packed everything and left Nairobi for Uganda where he stayed for a couple of years before returning to the country and marrying a second wife without Joyce knowing about it.
Today, she looks back and thanks God for overcoming it all but is ready to get married again but on certain conditions.
“I am ready, I can get married again because marriage was beautiful and I would want to get married to someone I enjoy friendship with.
“If he is a widower, I must know the cause of death of the wife, it could be he hit her with a metal rod…I am not looking for a young man.”
