Why 'widow' lost claim in Nyachae's Sh2b estate dispute

Margret Kerubo claims to be the widow to the late Simeon Nyachae and they sired two sons. [File, Standard]

A Family Court has dismissed a long-running succession dispute in which a woman claimed to be the widow of the late powerful politician Simeon Nyachae, ruling that she was never married to him and that her sons had no legal or moral claim to his estate.

In a detailed judgment delivered at the High Court, Family Court Judge Eric Ogola dismissed a petition filed by Margaret Chweya, who alleged that she married Nyachae under Kisii customary law in 1973 and bore him three children.

Justice Ogola ruled that Chweya failed to prove the existence of a customary marriage and that none of the applicants qualified as dependants under the Law of Succession Act.

The court found that Chweya and her two sons had failed to prove they were descendants of the late politician. “This court finds and holds that the first applicant was not a wife of the deceased, the late honourable Simeon Nyachae,” the judge said.

The court was also categorical that Chweya’s sons, Rodney and Paul Chweya, were not biological children of the former minister and could not inherit from his estate. “If the second and third applicants are seeking their fathers, their fathers are still alive,” Justice Ogola ruled. “They are at liberty to claim inheritance from their fathers. They have no moral or legal right to claim from the estate of the deceased.”

The judge observed that the men who testified as their biological fathers, Jacob Machuki Mokaya and Michael Pondo, “clearly and convincingly described how they loved and took care of their children”.

The court praised Chweya’s youngest daughter, Patricia Moraa Odero, who distanced herself from the case and testified that she knew her biological father as George Gordon Odero. “Their sister demonstrated maturity and morality by dissociating herself from the case,” the judge said. 

Nyachae died on February 1, 2021.

Chweya claimed she was the fourth wife of the former Cabinet minister, although she admitted during the hearing that she had been married to other men, which she described as marriages of convenience.

The woman, who resides in Los Angeles, California, admitted she had been married to Mr James Leroy Totten, among others, but said those unions were later nullified.

In analysing whether Chweya was Nyachae’s wife, the court relied on Section 43 of the Marriage Act and extensive jurisprudence on customary marriages.

Justice Ogola outlined the essential elements of a Kisii customary marriage, including payment of bride price, a wedding ceremony (keremo), the bride’s first meeting with in-laws (kereo boko), and the giving of a bridal name.

The court rejected her claims, ruling that photographs alone could not prove marriage and noting that she failed to call witnesses or produce evidence that any of the required ceremonies had taken place.

While she testified that Nyachae bought her a house in Loresho and supported the family financially, the court found the claims unsupported.

Instead, the court accepted uncontested bank statements showing that the house was paid for by Michael Pondo, ruling that “there is no link between the deceased and the Loresho property”.

The court also cited contradictions in Chweya’s evidence, including records of her marriages to other men and multiple name changes by her and the children over the years.

Chweya had sought to join a succession case pending before the High Court and sued Charles Nyachae, Angela Nyachae and Eric Nyachae, the administrators of an estate estimated to be worth more than Sh2 billion.

The court ordered Chweya to pay the costs of the case but suspended the decision for 14 days to allow her to appeal.