Judge declares sections of Law of Succession discriminatory to female gender

The High Court has declared some sections of the Law of Succession inconsistent with the Constitution and discriminatory to the female gender. Judge William Musyoka noted that that Section 22 of the Succession Act contradicts Article 47 of the Constitution, which stipulates that all Kenyans are equal before the law.

The issue came up following a succession matter in which 14 brothers had ganged up to possess 94 acres left behind by their father, leaving their six sisters with just an acre each.

Munji Wasakha died on February 8, 1970 without leaving a will. He had four wives and 22 children. Two of his widows moved to court seeking to be administrators of his estate. The matter was rocked by controversy, which saw the administrators bring three different proposals on how the property would be shared.

Justice Musyoka noted that the proposals were offensive to daughters of the deceased: “Article 47 guarantees equality before the law, equal protection and benefit of the law. Everyone has equal enjoyment of all rights and fundamental freedom; men and women have rights to equal treatment and opportunities in political, cultural and social sphere."