On Tuesday, November 20, 2018, the Federation of Women Lawyers (Fida) asked a Nyeri court to throw out retired Presbyterian Church minister Timothy Njoya’s case over four acres of land linked to his late father’s estate.
The dispute was heard before Nyeri Senior Principal Magistrate Phillip Mutua, with Fida urging the court to recognize Mary Wangui Maina as the lawful owner of the property. The organization said the evidence showed she had lived on the land as the wife of Nahashon Njoya Murere from 1977 until his death on January 2, 1996.
Through lawyer Catherine Murefu, Fida told the court that a statement from Thimba clan elders supported Maina’s account that she cohabited with Murere and occupied the land as her matrimonial home. Maina also maintained that the property formed part of her late husband’s estate and that she had remained there with her children for 41 years.
In her account, Maina said the couple had four children — George Mathenge, Anthony Maingi, Nelius Muthoni and Lesho Njoki. She told the court that Murere had moved the homestead to the disputed land before his death and that she began building her house in 1981 after the birth of her daughter Muthoni.
Maina further said that Timothy Njoya had reported his father to the chief of Muhito location, Mr Kiama, seeking more land. She claimed the chief later summoned Murere, who confirmed in her presence that she was his wife and had a right to inherit his share of the property.
She also told the court that Rev Njoya filed succession proceedings in 1997 without her knowledge and later obtained consent at the High Court in Nairobi. Maina said she challenged that process through an application for revocation of grant, but the bid was dismissed in unclear circumstances.
Fida argued that Maina’s occupation met the legal threshold for adverse possession and asked the court to apply sections 7, 13, 17 and 38(1) of the Limitation of Actions Act. The federation said section 7 bars recovery of land after 12 years from the date the cause of action accrued.
Njoya, however, insisted Maina was a trespasser and asked the court to order her to vacate the land. Through Kamau Kuria and Company Advocates, he said the estate had already been distributed by court and described the case as one filed in 2005 that had been delayed for eight years because of two High Court applications that were filed but not prosecuted.
He also said the defendants had kept him out of his property while living there rent free. Judgment was set for December 4.
