A family inheritance dispute that has dragged through the courts for more than two decades has finally moved closer to its end.
It is a case involving one man, four wives, children, omitted beneficiaries, disputed land sales, the death of an administrator and years of courtroom battles before the family finally found common ground.
Now the High Court has ordered the administrators of the estate of the late Muindi Ndolo to complete the transfer of the inheritance within six months or risk being removed from office.
Justice Esther Maina, in a ruling delivered on July 23, 2026, said the beneficiaries had waited long enough and deserved to receive what was rightfully theirs without any further delay.
The dispute dates back to January 5, 2000, when Mr Ndolo died.
According to the court, he was survived by four wives and children from each of the four households.
That should have marked the beginning of an orderly succession process. Instead, it became the start of a family battle that lasted 26 years. The first succession case was filed in April 2000.
The petition listed the second wife, Ngondu Muindi, together with her son, John Munyao, and daughter, Veronicah Ndinda Mutunga, as the only beneficiaries.
The first, third and fourth houses were completely left out.
Seven years later, in July 2007, a grant of administration was issued jointly to Ngondu Muindi and her son John Munyao.
The following year, the grant was confirmed.
The court later established that no written consent had been obtained from the widow or children in the first, third and fourth houses before that happened.
Only one daughter from the second house had signed the consent documents. The excluded relatives remained unaware of the succession proceedings for years.
They told the court they only learnt about the case after property belonging to the estate started being sold.
Alarmed by the developments, eight family members drawn from the four houses moved to court in October 2020 seeking to revoke the grant.
They accused the administrators of concealing the existence of the other wives and children from the court and disposing of estate property without involving all beneficiaries.
They also asked the court to stop any further dealings with the land while the dispute was being heard, and an application by Munyao.
He maintained that the deceased had settled each of his four wives on separate parcels of land while he was alive.
He further disclosed that one parcel had already been sold to a buyer who had taken possession, while another property had also been sold.
Because of those transactions, he argued that the purchasers should first be heard before any cancellation of titles could be considered.
He also urged the court not to revoke the grant but simply amend it to include additional administrators.
In a ruling delivered in December 2021, the court found that the succession proceedings had failed to disclose all the deceased’s surviving wives and children.
The omission, the court held, made the entire process fundamentally defective.
The judge ruled that a person seeking to administer an estate must disclose all beneficiaries and cannot leave out family members.
The court revoked the grant issued to Ngondu Muindi and John Munyao and ordered that a fresh application be filed involving all the beneficiaries from the four houses.
It also preserved the estate by stopping any further sale, transfer or subdivision of the disputed properties until a proper succession process had been completed.
Just when the family appeared ready to start afresh, another setback emerged.
John Munyao died before filing the fresh application ordered by the court. His death left the estate without an administrator and stalled the succession proceedings once again.
To revive the matter, the court directed each of the four houses to nominate one representative.
Angelina Mbula Muindi was selected for the first house, and Veronicah Ndinda Mutunga represented the second house.
Even then, disagreements persisted.
Rather than allow the family dispute to return to a full trial, the court referred the parties to court-annexed mediation, a move that worked.
By July 10, 2025, lawyers representing both sides informed the court that the family had reached a full settlement.
Under the settlement, the Kangundo properties would be registered in the names of Joseph Ndolo Munyao and Veronicah Ndinda Mutunga to hold in trust for the beneficiaries, while the five-acre Athi River property would be shared equally among representatives of the four houses, with each receiving 1.25 acres.
The matter, however, returned to court once more.
An application was filed seeking clarification that the second house’s share should also be jointly registered in the names of Joseph Ndolo Munyao and Veronicah Ndinda Mutunga to hold the property in trust for the other beneficiaries in that house.
Justice Maina allowed the application, saying the amendment merely clarified the mode of registration and did not prejudice the rights of any beneficiary.
The judge directed that the two would hold the property in trust while ensuring equal shares for the other beneficiaries in the second house.
“The mere existence of a confirmed grant, without active follow-through by the administrators, is no more than paper. It cannot bring closure to the beneficiaries whose inheritance remains out there,” Justice Maina said.
The judge ordered the administrators to complete the transfer of the estate within six months and file a full report before the court, or they be removed and replaced.
The family will return to court on February 2, 2027, when the judge will determine whether the order has been implemented.
