Who you can't marry, and when a marriage can be annulled
Marriage Act, 2014 · sources read 4 Oct 2026
You may not marry a close relative (grandparent, parent, child, grandchild, sibling, cousin, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, or a great aunt, uncle, niece or nephew), your spouse's or ex-spouse's parent, child, grandparent or grandchild, or someone you adopted or who adopted you; such a union is not a marriage. A marriage with certain other flaws can be annulled by a magistrate's court if one of the spouses petitions within one year of the wedding.
- Deadline
- Petition for annulment within 1 year of the wedding
- Where
- A magistrate's court, by petition from one of the spouses
Steps
- To end a flawed marriage, file a petition for annulment at the magistrate's court, stating the ground (for example, the marriage was never consummated or your consent was not freely given).
- Only you or your spouse can file. Relatives can't file on your behalf.
Watch out
- The ban on marrying a cousin does not apply to Muslims.
- Going through a marriage with a prohibited relative is a crime: up to 5 years in prison, a fine of up to KSh 300,000, or both.
- After annulment you are treated as never married, but debts properly taken on for each other during the marriage still stand.
- If you are relying on a prohibited relationship or your spouse's existing marriage, you must not have known those facts on the wedding day.
Who this covers
- Everyone marrying in Kenya, under any system of marriage
- Half-brothers, half-sisters and other half-blood relatives count too
- Also anyone your community's customary law forbids you to marry
Official sources (1)
- Marriage Act, 2014 (No. 4 of 2014) new.kenyalaw.org · read 4 Oct 2026