Succession: Court declares woman, niece co-widows

Susan Nyambura before Justice Hillary Chemitei on November 9, 2021, She was fighting her niece for a share in Sh100 million property left by German Tycoon Joseph Leitmann [File, Standard]

After 22 years of an epic legal battle between a woman and her niece over the estate of the late German tycoon Joseph Leitmann, the drama finally came to an end.

Leitmann, who moved to Kenya in the early 1950s, was a renowned farmer with vast acres of land in Subukia, Kiratina and Lanet areas of Nakuru County.

Until his death on August 3, 2001, a lot had not been documented about the 75-year-old German tycoon despite the fact that he owned over 5,000 acres of land in Subukia alone.

However, his wealth became public after Susan Nyambura, 75, and her niece Lucy Wanjiku, 54, battled in court, claiming they were his widows and entitled to the estate.

Leitmann’s estate includes a residential home, rental houses, a 5,178-acre land in Subukia, a hotel, motor vehicles, boreholes and machinery business and 2000 shares in Ukingoni Farm Limited.

By November 2001, all the properties were valued at Sh100 million. No new valuation has been done to date.

Court documents admitted as evidence between 2001 and 2023, during the pendency of Leitmann’s succession case, have revealed what transpired from 1957 to date.

Leitmann’s life in the 1950s was disclosed by a marriage certificate filed before Justice Hillary Chemitei of the High Court in Nakuru on April 25, 2022.

The marriage certificate showed that in 1957, the German married Jessie Spooner, a citizen of the United States of America.

The couple had children and lived together until 1964 when Spooner returned to the USA with her children.

Joseph Leitmann, the German Tycoon. [Courtesy]

After Spooner’s departure, Nyambura moved into Leitmann’s house as a help in the early 1960s.

She claims Leitmann fell in love with her, and “we decided to make our marriage formal.”

She said although she could not remember the exact date or year, she entered into marriage with Leitmann under a Kikuyu Customary Law.

However, Nyambura was unable to bear children with Leitmann.

Nyambura testified that she adopted Wanjiku, her niece, in the 1970s when she was 10.

Together with Leitmann, they educated Wanjiku until college.

However, as she grew older, Leitmann grew fond of Wanjiku, and they started a secret affair while she was in high school.

“I took Wanjiku into our house out of love and pity because my sister was unable to raise her,” testified Nyambura.

Leitmann and Wanjiku got married in 1995, and the two were blessed with children. They kicked her out of the matrimonial home.

Nyambura, however, argued that Wanjiku abandoned her children and her husband, went to the United States and never showed up until Leitmann died.

“Leitmann asked for forgiveness after Wanjiku left, and he called me back to his house. We were in the process of rectifying our previous union but he died,” she testified.

Wanjiku returned in late 2001, forcefully took over Leitmann’s home and denied her (Nyambura) access.

Wanjiku, a nurse, told the court she got married to Leitmann on June 30, 1995, when she was 28 years old while Lietmann was 69. 

She denied that her aunt was Leitmann’s wife. During her cross-examination, Wanjiku couldn’t support this claim. 

Lucy Wanjiku, who was fighting her aunt at Nakuru court since 2001 for the estate of their late husband, Joseph Leitmann. [Courtesy]

She also denied that Nyambura raised her from when she was 10 until she joined college. She also contradicted her mother Margaret Wangari’s testimony that she got involved with Leitmann while still in High School.

“I got acquainted with Leitmann in 1986 when I was 19 and entered into a relationship with him. By then, I had finished high school,” she testified.

Wanjiku denied snatching Leitmann from Nyambura. She also denied deserting him and their four children.

She could not explain why she did not visit Leitmann when he was sick and why she failed to attend his cremation.

Wanjiku defended the grant of letters of administration she was issued with on July 26, 2016, to manage Leitmann’s estate. She also applied for court to block Nyambura from the estate.

On Thursday, October 12, 2023, Justice Chemitei finally brought an end to the battle between the two close relatives.

Chemitei ruled that evidence in court showed that both Nyambura and Wanjiku were widows to Leitmann and were entitled to inherit his estate.

Chemitei said that despite being locked out, Nyambura had a stake in the estate.

The judge cancelled the grant of letters of administration issued to Wanjiku.

“The grant issued to the petitioner (Wanjiku) is cancelled; a new grant will be issued bearing both the name of the petitioner and the objector (Nyambura),” ruled Chemitei.

The court also quashed an eviction notice against Nyambura dated May 27, 2017.

According to the judge, both Nyambura and Wanjiku were Leitmann’s wives.