Big blow to man in row over estate

The High Court has stripped a man of the right to administer the estate of his late father for failing to distribute property to his three sisters.

Kakamega Presiding Judge William Musyoka said the fact that a daughter of a departed parent is married to a foreign national doesn’t take away her right to inherit property.

Justice Musyoka further held that even a child of a deceased parent who engages in criminal activities including a seasoned criminal is entitled to inheritance unless he/she was involved in the murder of his/her parent.

The judge arrived at the decision following a succession proceedings where Francis Malingumu sought substantive rights to administer the estate of his late father Joseph Koyabe Mutekho.

Mr Munialo moved to court in 2012 seeking to devolve the 6.1 hectares (15 acres) of the land fully to him and some nine persons he listed as liabilities his father owed before his death.

He told the court that he had not provided for his sister Jane Khatunyi since she had left the country and got married to a Tanzanian.

Munialo further said in his documents that his two sisters, Night Nanyunda and Agnet Machuma, had vanished from their home after they were involved in a murder case sometimes in 2016.

The disappearance allegations were endorsed by the area assistant chief in a letter dated December 14, 2012.

The judge held that the fact that a person disappeared from her parent’s home or is married in a foreign country is not a reason enough to deprive her of her rightful share of his late parents.

“Allegations by the administrator against his sisters impute a criminal conduct, serious allegation to make casually more so that of murder which is a capital offence," ruled the judge.

The judge said the administrator is untrustworthy and unfit for him to continue being the personal representative of his father’s estate.

“I revoke letters of administration and order the grant issued to him be cancelled,” said Justice Musyoka.