November 09, 2023.
NAIROBI, Kenya | Two court in Kenya and the United States have awarded sole physical custody of a one-year-and-ten-months-old boy to his father, Mr. Imani Manyara. This custody battle ended with Mr. Manyara emerging victorious over his estranged wife, a medical practitioner in Texas.
The custody battle unfolded with Mr. Manyara, a dual Kenyan-American citizen and resident of Wake County, North Carolina, alleging that his wife had been cruel to their son and was unfit to have custody of the child due to mental health concerns. He provided detailed accounts of the alleged cruelty, including leaving their young son unattended for extended periods, isolating him in a separate room, using physical discipline, and even destroying their child’s clothing.
According to Mr. Manyara, the troubled relationship between him and his estranged wife began when their child was just six months old. In an attempt to resolve their differences, the couple, who resided in Wake County, North Carolina, traveled to Kenya in January 2023 to seek reconciliation with their families.
During their two-week vacation in Kenya, Mr. Manyara claimed that his wife spirited their child away to an undisclosed location in the country, denying him access to his son. Frustrated and seeking a legal solution, he returned to North Carolina, where he contacted authorities and learned that his wife had returned to the US without their child, relocating to Texas.
Justice James Bedford of Wake County, North Carolina, played a key role in resolving the custody battle. In his ruling, Justice Bedford granted custody of the child to the father, allowing the mother limited visitation due to her mental health status. The judge ordered that the mother provide written notice of her intention to visit her son 14 days in advance, and her visits were limited to 30 minutes.
Furthermore, Justice Bedford granted Mr. Manyara authority over the child’s travel documentation and allowed him to collect the child from Kenya and return with him to the US. The judge also made provisions for shared decision-making in areas such as schooling and medical care, with day-to-day decisions to be made by the custodial parent, Mr. Manyara.
