John Kimeu married his first and second wives under Kikuyu customary law in 1980 and 2006 respectively. In 2016, he met and married Joan Wairimu at the Registrar of Marriages Office in Machakos. In his documents to the Registrar, John declared his status as a bachelor. Joan Wairimu was then nearing 40 years as a spinster and was therefore desperate to enter matrimony. At the time of his first marriage, John was in the process of constructing a two-bedroom house. 

His first wife contributed funds to enable completion of the project, and furnished the house. A 10-acre plot had been added to the family's assets by the time John married the second wife. On this plot a house was built, currently occupied by the second wife, the rest being used for vegetables and a banana plantation both for the family's food and for income. When John married Joan in 2016, he acquired a further two acres on which he built a house for her, and a shop that she manages. John is the sole holder of the titles to all the plots except the 10-acre plot, which is jointly registered with his first wife.

 

a) Comment on the legal status of each of John's marriages. (8 marks)

b)   Supposing John was to terminate his marriages to his three wives, what are their respective entitlements to the property in question? (12 marks)