Nairobi, Aug. 19 -- You were married, took your husband's surname and, over the years, built a life around it, but then the marriage ended. It now appears on your identification card, passport, bank records, academic certificates and professional documents. Perhaps your children also bear the same name.

Years later, your former husband remarries and asks you to drop his surname. So, can an ex-spouse legally demand that you stop using their surname? And can they sue you if you refuse?

"There is no law in Kenya that bars a divorced person from the continued use of the surname of the ex-spouse," says Njuguna Muri, advocate and partner at MMTK law firm, whose response was prepared jointly with associate Purity Wanja.

Under Section 11 of th...