By Wahome Thuku
A 26-year-old man and his grandmother are embroiled in a court battle over the ownership of prime properties in Nairobi.
Anthony Njoroge, a casual worker, is seeking to inherit the property, which he claims, was left behind by his mother Joyce Njoki, who passed on in July 2002.
But Njoki’s aged mother, Tabitha Wanjiku, who has already acquired letters to administer the property in Dandora and Ruai, will not let go.
And even a bigger issue is Njoroge’s roots. The man claims he is Njoki’s blood son but the granny insists he was an adopted child.
Wanjiku had five children, four of whom have died. Her daughter Njoki, who worked with the City Council of Nairobi died on July 18, 2002.
Her funeral programme produced in court indicates that she left behind two children, Jacinta Wangari and Anthony Njoroge.
"I was in Bostal Institution for juveniles in Kakamega when my mother died and this eulogy was written by my grandmother and other relatives," Njoroge says.
His identify card and birth certificate also indicate he is Njoki’s son and was born on January 20, 1986 at Jericho estate.
Njoki had named him, Wangari and Wanjiru as her beneficiaries at the Nacico Sacco of the council employees.
"To the best of my knowledge, I was born and raised by Joyce Njoki. I only heard the adoption story in 2008," he insists.
Njoroge claims all the property under his grandmother’s name was bought by his mother.
He wants the letters of administration granted to the grandmother in February 2003 revoked for misrepresentation of fact.
On her part, the grandmother says her daughter Njoki had only one child Wangari and she had not fully adopted Njoroge.
"My daughter was not married and she ailed for a long time before her death. I was responsible for her medical bills and upkeep as she had stopped working," she says in her court papers.
When petitioning for administration the elderly woman said Wangari and Njoroge were minors who could not inherit the property.
