Can someone married in church or at the Registrar marry a second wife?
Marriage Act · sources read 4 Oct 2026
No. Christian, Hindu and civil marriages (including those done at the Registrar) are monogamous, and while one lasts the person may not contract another marriage of any kind. A person in a customary or Islamic marriage, which is presumed polygamous, may not contract a new marriage in a monogamous form.
- Where
- Magistrate's court for divorce or a declaration about a marriage; Registrar of Marriages (State Law Office) for marriage records
Steps
- Check what kind of marriage you have. Christian, Hindu and civil marriages are monogamous; customary and Islamic marriages are presumed polygamous or potentially polygamous.
- A potentially polygamous marriage can be converted to a monogamous one if each spouse voluntarily declares they want to.
- Divorce, and a declaration on whether a marriage is valid, are matrimonial proceedings heard by the magistrate's court.
Watch out
- A union made while one person is still in an existing marriage that bars it is not a marriage in law.
- The rule applies for as long as the first marriage lasts.
- Going through a marriage ceremony while your husband or wife is alive, where that marriage is void for that reason, is the crime of bigamy, with up to 5 years in jail.
Who this covers
- Anyone in a Christian, Hindu or civil marriage.
- Anyone in a customary or Islamic marriage, which the law presumes is polygamous or potentially polygamous.
Official sources (2)
- Marriage Act, No. 4 of 2014 (Cap. 150) new.kenyalaw.org · read 2 Oct 2026
- Penal Code (Cap. 63) new.kenyalaw.org · read 4 Oct 2026