Why women struggle to own, inherit property despite law protection

Alice Kahaki, a renowned businesswoman in Nakuru, died on August 25, 1983, triggering a succession case initiated by her daughter Elizabeth Wanjiku.

In her submission before the High Court, Wanjiku claimed that her late mother owned 95 per cent of the family estate, estimated to be worth over Sh1 billion. Her father Philip Kamau, she told the court, owned only five per cent.

Wanjiku has been in court fighting for her mother’s rights up to date, with documents showing that the majority of the family property was registered in her father’s name and not her mother’s.