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Puzzle of missing Belgian as lawyer goes after her Sh100m property
Nakuru-based lawyer Harry Gakinya who is engaged in a court battle with the police over the control of a Sh100 million estate belonging to Belgian woman, Dysselleer Mireille Lesoipa, who is said to have died in 2018.
As the whereabouts of Belgian woman Dyselleer Mereille Lesoipa remain a puzzle, the focus seems to have shifted to her Sh100 million property.
A dispute pitting the police against a lawyer accused of killing the woman has gathered momentum at the High Court in Nakuru.
Nakuru-based lawyer Hari Gakinya, who petitioned for the letter of administration of the woman’s estate after her alleged death, claimed to have been appointed the executor of the will purportedly written by Ms Lesoipa.
However, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations wants the succession case terminated after accusing and charging the lawyer with the killing of the widow.
And now the Attorney General is seeking to be enjoined in the case with the intention of supporting the detective’s push to persuade the court to end the proceedings.
Whereas both parties believe the widow is dead, none has been able to give clear information on how she died and where her body is.
A death certificate that was in the possession of Mr Gakinya indicates that the widow died at the MP Shah hospital before she was cremated.
However, the police claim the death certificate has been confirmed to be a forgery by the State Department of Civil Registration, while the MP Shah hospital has denied having had Ms Lesoipa as its patient.
Appearing for the AG, State Counsel Sonia Wanjeri told the court there was sufficient evidence to prove that Ms Lesoipa was killed over her wealth and that the documents used to file the succession case are forgeries.
Ms Wanjeri informed the court that the AG has crucial information that will help the court in determining the case and also prove the fraud and illegalities in the documents used to file the petition.
She informed the court that the DCI furnished the AG with a comprehensive report that profoundly laid bare the forgery of public documents.
“The respondent’s claim and suit in entirety is premised on documents obtained illegally through fraud, forgery and concealment of material facts,” read the application in part.
However, the state, despite charging Mr Gakinya with Ms Lesoipa’s murder, is yet to explain how the woman was killed, or where her body is.
Mr Gakinya, through his lawyer Joseph Karanja Mbugua, has dismissed the allegations and wants the succession case to proceed. He wants to be allowed to distribute the property as stipulated in the will dated November 15, 2018, which he presented in court.
The will which was purportedly drafted by Ms Lesoipa, who appointed Mr Gakinya as the executor. It named seven individuals, including Mr Gakinya, as beneficiaries of the estate. The others are Ramato Tilia Lenkiok (to be educated), his mother Ntalie Lenolkiok, Elizabeth John Leramat Lebiite (to be educated), her driver John Wanjohi, Daniel Moen and Lucy Waithera Njuguna.
Ms Lesoipa’s property included a house in Milimani estate in Nakuru, a motor vehicle and money in three accounts at KCB and at another bank in Belgium. The police allegedly found Mr Gakinya in possession of the vehicle, a Toyota Prado.
Mr Gakinya was charged with murder alongside his cousin, Ms Lucy Waithera, who was also Ms Lesoipa’s best friend.
Yesterday, Justice Teresia Matheka granted the request by Mr Gakinya’s lawyer for 14 days to respond to the application by the AG to be enjoined in the case.
Ms Lesoipa, who migrated to Kenya in 1993 after marrying Samburu dancer Emmanuel Lesoipa, went missing in June 2018. She had been living in Nakuru where she had moved from Maralal, Samburu County. She and her husband divorced in 2004, and he died in 2017.
