The High Court has blocked a mother from meddling with the life of her daughter in a row over alleged forced marriage plot.

Justice Chacha Mwita, sitting in Nairobi, on Wednesday pushed the case to July after both parties failed to show up.

“A conservatory order is hereby issued restraining the respondent or his agents from interfering with the petitioner’s right to privacy, dignity, and freedom or in any other manner dealing with the petitioner,” ruled Justice Mwita.

In the case filed in 2023, the mother, who is yet to respond, is accused of plotting to marry the daughter off to an old man she did not know.

The petitioner claims she got wind from their house help.

“The applicant or petitioner has been under physical assault and abuse occasioned by respondent who has ill motive and selfish desire of marrying the petitioner off contrary to the believe and choice of the petitioner,” says the court papers.

To escape her parent’s plan, the daughter packed her belongings and escaped.

She says she tried to contact different people, hoping to get help, and finally found solace in two human rights organisations.

The coplainant claims her mother hired men to trace her movements, but when that failed, she was reported as a missing person to the police.

The officers then traced her to the place of refuge on January 18, 2023, and took her to the police station. It took the intervention of a lobby group to have her released.

Nevertheless, the police handed her back to the mother. According to her, this was without her consent.

She argues that the parent managed to get her way by giving false information. According to the court filings, the mother booked her at a rehabilitation centre in Nairobi as a mentally ill person.

The centre was, however, shut down after it was exposed for engaging in a bizarre religious healing. She says “patients” at the centre were locked in chains in dark rooms without ventilation and whipped.

Following the closure, the petitioner says she was handed to a human rights group. However, she expressed fears that she was still being pursued.

“The applicant is living in fear and mental anguish as a result of several men consistently following her with the intention to abduct her to marry her off as per the wishes and selfish desires of the respondent.”

She now wants the court to block her mother or her agents from interfering with her life or intimidating her to marry a person she does not love.

At the same time, she is seeking orders to block the hired group of men from pursuing her or getting instructions from her parent.

Meanwhile, the petitioner is also seeking compensation for the alleged torture.

The case will be mentioned on July 12.