Sunday, March 2, 2025 - Former EACC chairperson Mumo Matemu is in court over a Ksh 100 million succession dispute concerning the estate of his elder brother, Kata Matemu Kithyo, who passed away on April 18, 2024.
His niece, Ms Melany Mwelu Kithyo, has accused him of
attempting to interfere with the inheritance process and disinherit rightful
beneficiaries.
In a petition set for hearing in May, Melany claims that some
of those named as administrators and beneficiaries of the estate are unfamiliar
to the family.
She has also alleged that her mother, Ms Prisca Mukethe
Kithyo, was deliberately excluded from the process and later arrested in
December 2024 in what she describes as a scheme to frustrate her attempts to
claim her rightful share.
Ms Kithyo, 71, was reportedly detained on December 17, 2024,
before being arraigned at the Msambweni Law Courts for allegedly interfering in
the administration of the estate.
The estate, valued at approximately Ksh 100 million,
comprises multiple assets, including two hotels at the coast, one of which is
in Diani and generates a monthly income of about Ksh 150,000, parcels of land
in Machakos and Kwale, a matrimonial home in Athi River, funds in three bank
accounts, M-Pesa balances, shares in two companies, two motor vehicles and
livestock.
A grant of letters of administration for the estate was
issued on August 23, 2024, four months after Mr Kithyo’s death.
However, Melany has filed an application seeking to suspend
or stay the grant, arguing that the process was flawed and designed to exclude
her family from inheriting their rightful share.
She has raised concerns about the appointment of two
individuals as administrators, stating that she was not consulted during their
selection.
According to her, one of the administrators, Agnes
Mororumkweru Kata, is a Rwandan citizen currently residing in Canada, while
another, Billy Nzuma Kata, lives in Australia and was not in Kenya when key
documents were allegedly signed.
Melany has contested the inclusion of Ms Arriane Rose Okong’o
as a beneficiary, asserting that she is not the biological daughter of the late
Mr Kithyo but was instead born from an affair between her mother and the
deceased.
She further argues that the entire process was conducted with
undue haste, preventing her, her mother, and her siblings from participating in
key decisions.
According to court documents, Melany and her siblings Mark
Muinde and Ruth Kavinya were not consulted before the application for letters
of administration was made.
She claims that the grant was based on a fraudulent letter
dated April 29, 2024, allegedly issued by an assistant chief who relied on
information from Mr Isaac Kimeu Kithyo, a person she insists is neither a
beneficiary nor a personal representative of the estate.
An affidavit filed in support of the letters of
administration lists eight beneficiaries, including Melany and her two
siblings, but omits her mother, Ms Kithyo.
Melany has stated that her parents were legally married under
Akamba customary law in December 1974, and their union was later formalised in
a Christian ceremony on December 25 of the same year.
She claims that following her father’s death, Mr Matemu
excluded them from the burial arrangements, and the burial proceeded despite a
court challenge.
The grant of letters of administration was set to be
confirmed on March 3, 2025, but the process has now been halted pending the
hearing of Melany’s application in May.
Cyprian
Nyakundi
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