Court declares twin daughters heirs of late Minister Soita Shitanda

Former Housing Minister and Malava Member of Parliament, Soita Shitanda. [Courtesy] The Family Court in Nairobi has ordered that two girls be included as heirs of the former Housing Minister and Malava Member of Parliament, Soita Shitanda. Justice Hillary Chemitei, in his ruling, said that Cande Kavete and her twin sister Brandy Mbevu had proved that Shitanda had taken care of them while he was alive. According to the judge, there was evidence from the magistrate's court to show that the politician was contributing towards their upbringing. "In the premises, and barring any other evidence or technicalities which I think the petitioners are raising, I hold that the objectors are the deceased's children and, for all intents and purposes, entitled to his estate. The objection proceedings are upheld; the objectors are hereby recognised as the deceased's children for all intents and purposes. A joint grant is hereby issued to the petitioners, and this matter is to be gazetted forthwith," ruled Justice Chemitei. Shitanda died on 24 May 2016. His wife, Betty Glorious Soita, and two children, Peter Ngaira and Terence Shitanda, moved to court for succession. However, Kavete and Mbevu raised an objection, arguing that they were also the deceased's children. According to them, Shitanda was also married to their mother, Agnes Nduku Kiuvu. Kavete was the star witness in the case. She testified online, saying that they were born in 2001 as twins and were certain that the politician was their biological father. The 24-year-old produced documents from the children's court, where their mother and Shitanda were embroiled in a case over their upkeep. In the lower court case, she said, Shitanda admitted that he was their father. On the other hand, Gloria told the court that she was the only wife to the deceased. She said that she solemnised her marriage with him first customarily, then later at the Attorney General's office through a civil marriage. She denied knowing the two girls, adding that she came to know of them through the media at the time of Shitanda's burial. At the same time, the widow denied intermeddling with the estate. She argued that the court had not granted her letters to manage the estate. Kavete and Mbevu, in their submissions, said they have a right to inherit the wealth left behind by the minister as his children from his union with Nduku. According to them, there was no justifiable reason to lock them out of the succession process. On the other hand, Shitanda's widow and children said that the objection was premature, as the grant had not been gazetted. In the meantime, the judge declined to allow joint administration of the estate. He said that since Kavete and Mbevu were outside the country, it would be difficult for them to run it. He also found that there was no evidence to show interference with the wealth left behind by the deceased. "I do not, as well, find any evidence of intermeddling with the estate by the petitioners, since they have not been granted any letters of administration. If there is any, then there is sufficient time, especially when the estate shall be distributed," he said.

Court declares twin daughters heirs of late Minister Soita Shitanda

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Court declares twin daughters heirs of late Minister Soita Shitanda

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