Woman sues brother-in-law over husband's multi-million estate

A woman has filed a lawsuit against her brother-in-law, James Mathu Njau, accusing him of attempting to seize her late husband’s estate.

The succession case of the late Patrick Mutura is before the High Court in Kiambu.

In the suit, Njambi claims that her in-laws, led by Mathu, are trying to defraud her and her two daughters of property in Ruiru and Thika, which she acquired with Mutura over the past 30 years.

Njambi is seeking a grant of Letters of Administration of the estate, but she alleges that her in-laws are obstructing the process. 

"My in-laws are out to defraud me and my children of our hard-earned property," she states in her court documents.She claims that she has been receiving unwarranted attacks from her in-laws who are after the property in Ruiru.

Njambi further accuses Mathu of allegedly being behind attempts to steal the property, citing the dispute over her late husband's will.

She claims that after her husband's funeral, she initiated the succession process, but Mathu objected to her application for the grant of Letters of Administration.He presented a written will in court, which Njambi believes is forged. "The signatures on that will are not my late husband's," she asserts.

Njambi claims that her in-laws confessed to selling some of her husband's property after he passed away on March 24, 2021.

"Upon conducting property searches, I discovered that some property was transferred to other people in 2023, two years after my husband’s death," she says.

The in-laws however, argue that Njambi has no right to control the estate, citing divorce from her husband two years before his death.Mathu has filed an affidavit opposing Njambi’s application for the grant of Letters of Administration.

He argues that she has not provided sufficient documentation to prove that the property listed in her petition truly belong to the late Mutura.

"Save for property named in the Deceased's will, Njambi has not filed a single document, such as a current certificate of official search from any Land Registry, property ownership documents, or motor vehicle search, to prove that the property or vehicles in her petition belong to the deceased," Mathu asserts.

In his affidavit, he refers to a detailed account provided by the deceased in 2017, which outlines how some property were sold.

Mathu contends that Njambi’s claims are unfounded, as the sale of the property was never contested by Mutura.

He argues that Njambi’s belief that the will should reflect her wishes, rather than those of the deceased, is misguided.

Mathu further points out that Njambi and her husband were divorced and had not reconciled before his death.

"As far as I know, my brother and Alice Njambi were divorced. This undeniable fact is confirmed by the judgment dissolving the marriage issued in Divorce Cause No. 22 of 2021. There is no indication that the judgment, orders, or decree were ever set aside," he states in his affidavit.

"There is no indication that the deceased and Njambi ever reconciled. He had been living alone at Nirvana Apartments near Kamakis area, along the Eastern Bypass in Ruiru at the time of his death, and none of the neighbors or hospital staff reported her involvement during his illness or after his death," he added.

Mathu also refers to court records confirming their divorce, asserting that Njambi has not provided any proof of reconciliation.

"All my conversations with the deceased up until his death confirmed that he had divorced Njambi. The proceedings attached by Njambi confirm that all attempts at reconciliation had failed. In her own testimony, she stated that the deceased had asked for a divorce and protested any attempts at reconciling," Mathu says.

He recounts that when his brother collapsed in the house, it was an ambulance driver who called him, saying he had been taken to Kenyatta National Hospital.

"Even when he collapsed in the house, it was the neighbors who called the ambulance to rush him to the hospital since he was living alone. I went to the hospital and found him alone," Mathu recalls.

"For the entire time he stayed at the hospital until his death and transfer of the deceased's body to Kenyatta University Funeral Home, Njambi never visited him and was never involved in any way. Therefore, the allegations that they had reconciled are completely false."

Mathu further claims that Njambi and the deceased had a strained relationship, marred by accusations of assault and attempted murder. He asserts that it is impossible for her now to convince the court that they reconciled and were still married.

The Family Court will deliver a judgment on who will be granted control of Mutura’s estate on November 22, 2024.