By Harold Ayodo

Cases of parents-in-law wrestling property from surviving spouses of their children are on the rise.

In most cases, widows are on the receiving end as their in-laws accuse them of ‘reaping’ where they did not sow.

Many widows in urban areas are however, not giving up on the investments they claim to have contributed towards its acquisition.

They are instructing lawyers to file suits in court to salvage their matrimonial property after the death of their husbands.

Some of the in-laws argue that the widows had no investments when they got married and could not enjoy the sweat of their departed children.

The scramble over property occasionally turns ugly with parents disowning their daughters in-law despite having children with their late sons.

Today, the bitter accusations are increasingly ending up in court with lawyers citing constitutional provisions on matrimonial property.

There is also the newly passed Land Act of 2012, which spells out the rights of married women on property acquired during marriage. Consequently, informed widows who know their rights are rolling up their sleeves for legal battles over their hard earned investments.

Greedy in-laws

Take the case of Maryanne Ndunge who sent an email complaining about the ‘greed’ of her mother-in-law.

“Barely three days after my hubby died in a road accident, his mother and aunts demanded that I hand over title deeds of property we bought together,” Ndunge writes. 

According to Ndunge who is an architect, they (late husband and her) were registered as joint owners of the three properties in dispute.

Ndunge is not alone as several other women are disinherited from their marital homes following the death of their husbands.

Traditionally, the argument was that women had no rights over property — ‘greedy’ in-laws, therefore, invoked customs to disinherit widows of their sons. A recent publication by Fida Kenya titled Every Mile Counts: Building a Legacy of Women’s Rights Protection in Kenya, statistics tells the story.

According to the 100-page publication, out of women who constitute 52 per cent of the population, just a mere one per cent have title deeds registered in their names!

Property ownership

Another six per cent of the population have title deeds registered in joint names, according to the annual publication. ?But modern women have changed and are willing to pull no stops in defending their rights.

For instance, the widow of the late marathon champion Samuel Wanjiru is currently locked in a dispute with his mother over the runner’s multi-million shilling estate.

Triza Njeri and her mother-in-law, Hannah Wanjiru, have been trading accusations, with the latter saying she could not access proceeds from property left by her son. More widows in urban areas are using Njeri and her mother’s case as a reference in law to seek their similar property rights in court.

Another legal alternative for widows is to quickly instruct their lawyers to apply for Letters of Administration at the High Court.

Letters of Administration empower the widow to manage the property of her late spouse for six months. Upon expiry of the six months, the widow can transfer the properties into her name or children as the registered owners. An original death certificate and title documents for the immovable property must be attached before making the application at the High Court.

There are also legal forms which, must be filled by the applicant and other beneficiaries named in order of seniority - widow, children, father, mother, siblings and cousins.

Legal recourse

If the deceased husband was a polygamist, then the widows must agree to apply for the Letters of Administration.

The application must be advertised in the Kenya Gazette and those objecting the same must do so within 30 days after the notice appear.

Legally, a surviving spouse(s) and children have rights over investments of the departed even if they died without writing a Will.

Even a separated spouse has property rights and even divorcees can lay claim to the estate — according to the Law of Succession.

The law considers the most important in inheritance rights as they may have contributed to the investment. It assumes that the surviving widow — apart from close blood relatives — needs the investments the most.

Furthermore, she would use it in the best interest of the children who would inherit the property after turning 18 years. However, courts may rule against the rights of widows who remarry as this only entitles children in her first marriage as sole heirs. And, the widow would have to seek consent of the court before selling inherited land or house to maintain her children.

Therefore, in-laws should go slow on widows as they mainly only lay claim to their children’s property only if their deceased son was a bachelor without children. In such a case, fathers are the first in line of such inheritance before mothers, brothers, sisters, nephews and nieces respectively in equal share.

Recently, Lady Justice Mary Ang’awa ruled that a mother inherits the estate of her late son - Henry Ng’ang’a Wangendo.

According to Justice Ang’awa, Wangendo was survived by his mother only, who was automatically the heir.

In another case, Lady Justice Martha Koome ruled the estate of Wamuhu Murimi — who died single — be inherited equally amongst her nephew and three nieces.

On the same note, Justice Sarah Ondeyo also ruled in Nakuru that the father of a widow who died without a child was the bona fide heir.

In cases where the deceased has no surviving spouse and blood relatives, then the estate is liquidated and proceeds paid into the Consolidated Fund.

The writer is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya.