Married Kenyan women can now put a smile on their faces following the latest court ruling on inheritance.
The Environment and Lands Court in Nyeri has ruled that married women have a right to inherit property from their father, including land.
In her ruling, Justice Lucy Waithaka says married daughters are qualified to inherit their father’s estate and should not be left when the family property is being shared.
In a ruling on the sharing of the estate belonging to late Ibrahim Wathuta Mbaci, who was polygamous, Justice Waithaka argues that the Law of Succession under the 2010 Constitution allows all children to inherit property from their fathers, the customary laws notwithstanding.
“The Law of Succession disregards customary law and allows all the children of the deceased, inclusive of married daughters, whether or not maintained by the deceased prior to his death, to benefit from his estate,” her ruling reads in part.
Justice Waithaka further says that unlike in the previous Constitution where preference was given to customary laws and traditions, the 2010 Constitution treats all children equally, whether male or female, as far as distribution of family wealth is concerned.
Mbaci’s second wife, Mary Wangui Wathuta had excluded daughters of Mbaci’s first wife when the family property was being distributed.
The judge has ruled that the daughters of the late first wife of Mbaci were treated unfairly and has directed that they be given a fair share of their dad’s estate.
This ruling has sparked a heated debate between women rights groups and conservationists, who believe married women have no right to inherit property from their fathers.
Does this mean they have to…
Does this mean they have to inherit, or they do qualify? I understand the latter….
Although the decision has merits, the constitution is so much of a western copy, copied and pasted so that we can look like wazungu. Customs should always be respected, if African value themselves. Don’t they see how wazungu wanajipenda????
Trump led by example by always emphasizing “America First” the rest of the world second. That.
@Mteja, what is wrong with…
@Mteja, what is wrong with women acquiring property via inheritance from their father? And to answer your question…
“The Environment and Lands Court in Nyeri has ruled that married women have a right to inherit property from their father, including land”
Too much huddle for nothing…
Too much huddle for nothing. Let the father decide by way of leaving a will.
Its about time, this law is…
Its about time, this law is long over due. A daughter,and ason are equal children of the father.Just because she is married should not negate her from inheriting what her father left behind.If I have only daughters, Iwould not want inheritence denied them because of some out dated cultural practice.
Now days husbands are very unreliable as opposed to when this cultural practice was instituted.Another practice that should be outlawed is the buying of wives.Human beings should not be sold,or exchanged for anything.When you do that, you relegate the value of a human being to that of a commercial product.And as we have seen, that has resulted in untold abuses.
When you sire children you…
When you sire children you don’t choose their sex. Neither should you choose who inherits and who doesn’t. They are all your children.