A property dispute pitting a man against the boyfriend of his dead daughter is threatening to tear a family apart. And, at the centre of the tiff, is a court ruling that further complicates the matter.
This is after the Principal Magistrates’ Court in Ruiru, Kiambu County, ruled in favour of the woman’s boyfriend, Dennis Gachie, listing him as the trustee of the Sh100 million assets and leaving out her father, who is currently based in the USA. T
he elderly Kenyan, Mr John Gathungu, who is yet to come to terms with losing his wife, Florence Ngendo Kiumi in late 2020 and his daughter in July 2022, has now also lost his late wife’s properties in Nairobi, Kiambu and Kilifi to Mr Gachie.
Even more disturbing for Mr Gathungu is the fact that his daughter, Ann Wamuyu Gathungu, died mysteriously shortly after she successfully concluded a succession case that listed her as the sole beneficiary of her late mother’s estate.
Upon learning of Mr Gachie’s plans to sell off some of the property, Mr Gathungu, through his lawyer Kiroko Ndegwa, rushed to court seeking revocation of grant of letters of administration issued in July 2021 to Ms Wamuyu.
In his submissions to the court, Mr Gathungu said he was left out during the succession case that pronounced his late daughter as the sole beneficiary of his late wife’s property, which he said they jointly acquired before he left for the USA over 20 years ago.
The applicant said that he and his wife decided to register the assets under her name to hold them in trust on his behalf as their matrimonial properties. His wife, however, died in November 2020 in Kahawa Sukari and left properties in Ruiru, Kirimuknyi, Ngandu, two plots in Kahawa Sukari, another property in Kilifi/Vipingo s well as a spare parts business in Nyamakima.
Two months later, in January 2021, Ms Wamuyu filed for grant of letters of administration as the sole beneficiary of her mother’s property without his knowledge, Mr Gathungu told the courts.
He said he only came to know of it when his daughter died. He was shocked to learn that her boyfriend was collecting rent in one of the properties in Ruiru . Mr Gachie said Ms Wamuyu, who was the mother to his two daughters, was the administrator of her late mother’s estate. He added that he, together with Ms Wamuyu and their two children, had lived with Ms Ngendo in the USA for two years as she was receiving treatment.
He further claimed that Mr Gathungu had not been in Kenya for over 20 years and had, in fact, not been married to Ms Ngendo and didn’t attend her funeral.
Mr Gachie said Ms Ngendo has single-handedly built her empire with the retirement benefits she got from the Kenya Post and Telecommunication Corporation. Mr Gachie told the court that, through an affidavit sworn by Mr Gathungu and sent to Ms Wamuyu via WhatsApp, Mr Gathungu admitted that he had not married Ms Ngendo.
For these reasons, Mr Gachie said Mr Gathungu was in no position to call for the revocation of the grant of letters of administration issued to Ms Wamuyu and asked the courts to dismiss his application with costs.
Principal Magistrate J.A Agonda ruled that Mr Gathungu had not bought tangible evidence to show his daughter Ms Wamuyu had fraudulently obtained the grant letters of administration of her late mother’s estate.
With Mr Gachie proving that he is the biological father of the two minors and considering the children have no capacity to administer their late mother’s properties, the court appointed him as the trustee for the two minors.
“The court orders that all estate of Florence Ngendo Kiumi was fully distributed to the late Ann Wamuyu Gathungu as provided under the Succession Act. Dennis Gachie Githui to hold the properties therein in trust for the two minors. The costs will be in the cause,” the court ruled.
