This archive report was first published on 15 November 2019.
On November 15, 2019, the Kakamega High Court delivered a significant ruling in a succession case, stripping a man of his rights to administer his late father's estate.
The case involved Francis Malingumu, who sought to take control of his late father Joseph Koyabe Mutekho's 6.1-hectare estate. However, the court found that Malingumu was untrustworthy and unfit to continue as the personal representative of his father's estate.
Justice William Musyoka, the presiding judge, ruled that the fact that one of Malingumu's sisters was married to a foreign national or that another sister had been involved in a murder case did not justify depriving them of their rightful share of the estate.
According to the court documents, Malingumu had made baseless allegations against his sisters, including claims that they had vanished from their home after being involved in a murder case in 2016. The area assistant chief had even endorsed these allegations in a letter dated December 14, 2012.
However, Justice Musyoka held that such allegations were serious and could not be made casually, especially when they involved a capital offense like murder.
As a result, the judge revoked Malingumu's letters of administration and ordered the grant issued to him to be cancelled.
