Court thwarts man's attempt to disinherit his three sisters

A man’s attempt to disinherit his three sisters by denying them a share of their father’s assets has failed after a court ordered that the property be distributed afresh to all siblings.

Justice Maureen Odero said Margaret Wangeci, Jane Wambui and Eva Njeri must be included in the distribution of their father’s estate estimated to be worth Sh2.5 million.

The estate comprises four parcels of land in Murang’a, an unspecified amount of money at NIC Bank and 266 shares at Kenya Commercial Bank, 8,545 shares at Barclays bank, Cooperative Bank (50 shares), Kagaa Mwireri Co Ltd (2,000 shares) and Wangu Investments (10 shares).

The assets had been shared out among six brothers and the distribution was done by one of them, Mr Benson Mugo through an authority granted by court on February 13, 2013. He was also the administrator of the estate, court papers indicate.

Upon learning they had been disinherited, the sisters filed an application for review, arguing that the grant of estate administration was issued to Mr Mugo without their knowledge.

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Their case for reversal of the distribution formula and their inclusion was backed by their other brothers except the administrator.

Urging court to revoke the grant, the sisters contended that it was fraudulently obtained by concealment of a material fact being that their father, Bernard Kariuki, had left a written will detailing how his estate was to be distributed. Their father died on April 14, 2003.

In her judgment, however, Justice Odero found the will was invalid because it was not signed by two independent witnesses -- a statutory requirement.

She also declined to revoke the authority granted to Mr Mugo to distribute the estate, but set aside the schedule of the assets’ distribution in which the sisters had been left out.

“I note that (from the schedule dated February 18, 2013) the estate is to be distributed to all the beneficiaries except the daughters of Mr Kariuki. The law of Succession Act provides under Section 38 that ‘Where intestate has left a surviving child or children but no spouse, the net estate shall, subject to the provisions of sections 41 and 42 devolve upon the surviving child if there will be only one or equally divided among the surviving children’,” said the judge.

Daughters included

“Therefore, the estate ought to be divided amongst all the children of Mr Kariuki, the daughters included,” she stated.

However, she said the daughters have the option to waive their right to inherit but such waiver must be done personally in writing by each one of them.

“In the absence of such waiver, I do, in exercise of courts powers under Section 47, Law of Succession Act, set aside the mode of distribution in the confirmed grant dated February 18, 2013,” said Justice Odero.

She directed the siblings to agree on a new mode of distribution including all the beneficiaries taking into account any properties that may have already been disposed of by Mr Mugo.

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The judge directed the siblings to present before court a new schedule within 21 days.

“If parties are unable to agree on a new schedule of distribution, the court will hear the parties only on the question of distribution of the estate,” stated Justice Odero.

As a result of the judgment, Mr Mugo has since returned to court with an affidavit stating that after the judge issued the verdict he went looking for the sisters for the purposes of establishing whether they wish to lay claim to their father’s estate or they will opt to waive their right to inherit.

“Jane Wambui and Margaret Wangeci have both opted to waive their right to inherit from the estate as suggested by the court,” says Mr Mugo adding that he has been unable to trace the family of the other sister Eva Njeri, who died on July 9, 2006.

He wants court to reinstate the mode of distribution that was in the grant of February 18, 2013.

The case will be mentioned October 11, for the court to be updated on compliance with its orders.