A Nakuru woman involved in a bitter legal battle with her co-wife has told a court how a plan was orchestrated to cremate their dead husband without her knowledge in a bid to exclude her from claiming her rightful share of inheritance.
Monica Muthoni said despite her dedicated care for her husband, Habel Thumi Karobia, during his illness, she was sidelined from the funeral arrangements by her co-wife, Loise Wangeci, leading her to suspect foul play.
Mr Thumi was a Nakuru businessman who died on January 31, 2012, at Karen Hospital in Nairobi.
Muthoni says she was the only one taking care of the man during his illness at various hospitals in Nakuru and Nairobi before his demise.
Court documents indicate that the businessman sired six children - Philip Habel, Irene Njoki, Raphael Karobia, Ann Wacuka (deceased), Henry Kiragu (deceased) and Hellen Victoria (deceased) - with Ms Wangeci.
On the other hand, Mr Thumi sired two sons with Ms Muthoni, Peter Muna Karobia and Anthony Karanja.
Appearing before Justice Samuel Mohochi on Tuesday, Muthoni said her concerns were exacerbated when her attempts to inquire about the burial planned for February 18, 2012, were met with resistance from her stepdaughter Ann Wacuka, who allegedly dismissed her inquiries.
The second wife alleges that an obituary placed in the newspaper by her co-wife omitted her and her children, signalling a deliberate attempt to exclude them from the funeral proceedings.
“I called one of the sons, Philip Habel, to inquire about the burial arrangement but his sister Wacuka picked the call and told me that she would not be the one to discuss the funeral issues,” said Muthoni.
Her swift legal action halted the burial temporarily on February 17, 2012, but, to her shock, she discovered that her husband of 33 years had already been cremated a day earlier without her knowledge.
Subsequently, the other family petitioned the court for letters of administration, listing only six individuals as beneficiaries of the estate, significantly undervaluing the wealth left behind by the deceased.
According to Ms Muthoni, her deceased husband had property valued at more than Sh65 million, yet her first family lied to court that the man was worth only Sh5 million.
Throughout the legal proceedings, Ms Muthoni claims to have been in the dark, with the other family "advancing their interests without her input."
She stated her rights as a long-time partner of the deceased, recounting their shared history and the significant contributions she made to their family life.
“I believe cremating the deceased on February 16 was a deliberate attempt to discriminate against me and my children from the funeral and a bid to disinherit me and my family from the deceased’s property,” she told Justice Mohochi.
In the petition filed by Ms Wangeci’s son, Philip, the family listed only six individuals as bonafide beneficiaries of the estate, which they estimated to be worth Sh5 million.
The court allowed the application, naming Philip and Irene as the estate's administrators in 2017.
It was later amended in 2019 to add Irene Njoki as an administrator, and Ann Wachuka included in 2022.
However, Ms Muthoni claimed to have been in the dark throughout the proceedings, filing a protest to the petition for grant.
In her testimony, Ms Muthoni claimed to have met Mr Thumi in 1977 while living in a municipal house in the Flamingo estate of Nakuru East before their romantic relationship blossomed.
They started living together in 1978 and had their first-born son, Peter, in 1983 and Anthony in 1996.
The woman claimed to have been married to the businessman, who even paid part of her dowry, including 40 goats from the required 90 in 1992. They then moved to Kimathi estate, where they rented a house.
Ms Muthoni said the man was present in her children’s lives and sufficiently provided for them until his demise.
During the period, the woman said she knew some of his property, including a commercial house at Section 58 and a house in Nakuru.
She said she knew of the five-house property Mr Thumi had bought in different parts of the country.
“I know of his plots in Section 58 trading centre and a commercial building where his office was located as well as his house. I remember in 2011 when he came with photographs of a house he had bought on loan in Nairobi. He also told me of the houses he had bought in Kajiado and Mountain View in Nairobi as well as some other commercial properties in Kangemi,” she said.
According to her, the total estimated value of the businessman’s property is more than Sh65 million.
She told the court she has endured financial hardship and emotional distress since her husband's passing, struggling to make ends meet while her rightful share of the estate remains in dispute.
She told the court she faces resistance from her stepchildren, whom she accuses of withholding information about the deceased's assets for their gain. The hearing continues Friday.
