A Kenyan court was treated to theatrics when a church elder and his wife traded accusations on adultery after the husband was charged with assaulting his wife.

Nahashon Thuo who allegedly attempted to throw his wife over balcony from first floor during a domestic fight was accused of assaulting her.

He denied the charges before chief magistrate Heston Nyaga.

Nyaga sought to know the extent of injuries inflicted on the complainant and the relationship between the two before setting bond and bail terms for Thuo when it turned out the two were a couple.

Thuo claimed the charges arose from longstanding differences between them and Nyaga called out the suspect’s wife to respond when the two began the exchange.

He claimed his wife wants to disfranchise him of their matrimonial property. He said their residential house is at the centre of their dispute. But his wife said they disagreed over his appetite for debts and attempts to transfer the home they jointly put up, to himself.

She said Thuo acts nothing like a church elder he is, has been battering her since last year but she covered it to protect their children until the latest incident in which she claimed he attempted to throw her over the balcony.

She said Thuo has been insecure owing to her beauty and has been suspecting her of having affairs, battering her frequently and has kicked her and her son out of their home.

“I kept quiet because I knew my children were awaiting exams. He has been suspicious of me always getting furious every time he sees a man near me although I know he has affairs with certain girls and I had decided never to confront him,” she said.

But Thuo claimed she had been cheating on him. He said on the day they fought she had been dropped home by a man past midnight.

“She texted my son to ask him whether I was home and if I looked like I was angry. She told him to tell me she was with Jane. But later, a double cabin [pick up] slowly passed near or home and dropped her,” Thuo said.

The complainant said her estranged husband has locked her personal belongings including national ID and has been using her documents and forging her signature to transfer their property to himself.

Thuo denied the same and said their property belongs to their children. The complainant said she wants a divorce because she can’t stand the torture anymore.

Nyaga directed the probation department to carry out a social inquiry of the two before he grants bails to Thuo. The suspect will remain in custody until February 10 when the report is expected to be availed in court.