October 5, 2021
By: Ilyasa Baa
Getting married to a foreigner especially expatriates on official assignments, has been a blessing for some families in Sierra Leone, while a torn in the flesh to others.
In an exclusive interview with our Northern correspondent, Betty Kamakuma (aged 32) born of Kono is different and not rosy having been abandoned by her legally wedded husband, Andrew Patrick Kelsey, a British national who was working with African Minerals on the Ferenbuya mines as Engineer.
Our findings is that Mr. Kelsey had gone to Betty’s family asking for her hand in marriage and the family wholeheartedly accepted and the marriage ceremony took place on 11th March, 2011.
All went well for the couple for years and were later blessed with a son, Leo Patrick Kelsey (aged 8) who is now in class three.
Initially, the boy was well taken care of by the father who took him and his mother on vacation to England. Little did she know that everything would get sour or better until Mr. Kelsey left the country?
According to Betty, he neither divorced her nor informed her that he was leaving the country. Since Mr. Kelsey left the country in 2016, he has not been in touch with Betty despite several attempts made by her to contact him on Facebook.
“He blocked me after ignoring my messages”, she wailed, adding that she noticed that her husband has got re-married with two kids in the Philippines. “I was expecting much from him and not the way he has treated us”, Betty asserted.
She said she has tried to involve his friends and relatives, but Kelsey could not listen. She expressed her dissatisfaction that she has not been treated fairly as life is becoming hard for them.
“Taking care of my son is a burden for me who is unemployed and doing no business at the moment”, she complained.
Betty is calling for help to track down Mr. Kelsey for divorce settlement and child support. They are currently residing in Makeni city with little or no hope.
A legal luminary with over two decades experience has on condition of anonymity said there is a case of bigamy against the British citizen if the matter is taken to court.
In his analysis, he maintained vividly that no individual has the right to abandon his wife or kid where there is no divorce settlement.