I married American to access grants, Simeon Nyachae’s ‘wife’ claims in fight for his billions
Former Cabinet Minister Simeon Nyachae. His family has started the formal process of distributing his assets to beneficiaries cited in his Will.
A woman claiming to be the fourth wife of former cabinet minister Simeon Nyachae on Thursday, July 27, admitted that she was married to another man, in what she said was a marriage of convenience.
Ms Margaret Chweya Nyachae, who lives in Los Angeles, California, admitted on cross-examination that she was married to Mr James Leroy Totten but the union was later annulled.
When she was pressed about the union with Mr Totten in 1989, a teary Ms Chweya claimed she consented in order to access grants and other assistance while she was studying in the US.
She said the idea was suggested by Mr Totten’s mother (Marion), who was her friend, when she (Marion) found her photocopying text books belonging to other students, so that she could catch up with her homework.
“I guess I made a wrong option. I never saw [Mr Totten],” she said.
When asked whether Mr Nyachae knew of the arrangement, Ms Chweya said, “I never disrespected my husband.”
The woman is fighting to be included in a succession case pending before the High Court. She has sued Charles Nyachae, Angela and Eric, who are the administrators of the estate that’s estimated to be worth over Sh2 billion.
Ms Chweya further admitted that she got into another relationship with a man identified as Mr George Gordon Odero. She recalled that they met at the Kenyan consulate and he started stalking her. She was then a student at the University of Southern California in 1987.
“I told my husband about the man, and after checking on his background, he asked me to find a way of telling him off but in a nice way,” she said.
Pressed harder, she admitted that a case was filed in Los Angeles against Mr Odero for maintenance of one of her children but it wasn’t true that it was because he had failed in his parental responsibilities.
She told Justice Eric Ogolla that she was married to Mr Nyachae in a traditional ceremony sometime in 1973 and the dowry was paid to her uncle, Samson Obaga Okao, because her father, David Chweya, died in 1970.
Ms Chweya told the court that Mr Nyachae bought her a house in Loresho, Nairobi, near his other home and maintained it while she and her children were away in the US.
Ms Chweya admitted that her two sons were born in Mater and Kenyatta National Hospitals but disowned birth certificates produced in court showing that the two sons had different fathers.
Also Read: Raila - Nyachae accused me of betrayal
The woman claimed that the will did not include all of Mr Nyachae’s property and her children were left out.
She denied being married to two other men — Mr Jacob Machuki and Michael Pondo —when she was being questioned by her lawyer Danstan Omari.
Asked by Justice Ogolla whether she attended Mr Nyachae’s burial, Ms Chweya said she and her eldest son did attend the burial but “we were kicked out”.
She, however, said she was known by the extended family and she had been in constant communication with some of Nyachae’s other children.
Ms Chweya further told the court that she was ready for her children to undergo DNA tests to ascertain their paternity.
She also admitted that she changed the names of her children, who are now adults, a few months after the death of Mr Nyachae, to include the politician’s name in their documents.
Hearing continues on October 9.
