In re Estate Peter Kamau Njoroge (Deceased) [2020] eKLR

Key Facts

Deceased Name

Issues

• Whether the grant of letters of administration intestate issued to Florence Nduta Kamau should be revoked due to material non-disclosure of the deceased's children from a prior marriage to Isabella Njeri Kamau.
• Whether the deceased's estate should be administered jointly between Florence Nduta Kamau and Rachel Wanjiru Kamau (as representative of Isabella Njeri Kamau's children) given conflicting claims of multiple surviving spouses and children.

Date of Death

Holdings

• The court revoked the grant of letters of administration issued to Florence Nduta Kamau on 28th June 2017, finding material non-disclosure of the deceased's children with Isabella Njeri Kamau. The grant was substituted with a joint grant in the names of Florence Nduta Kamau and Rachel Wanjiru Kamau (representing the children of Isabella Njeri Kamau).
• The court ordered the parties to file supplementary affidavits within 30 days to disclose all free property of the deceased forming part of his intestate estate, ensuring comprehensive administration of the estate.
• Costs were awarded in the cause, with no specific allocation mentioned between the parties.

Remedies

• The grant of letters of administration issued to Florence Nduta Kamau on 28th June 2017 is revoked. It is substituted with a joint grant in the names of Florence Nduta Kamau and Rachel Wanjiru Kamau, who represents the children of the deceased from his marriage to Isabella Njeri Kamau.
• The court orders the parties to file supplementary affidavits within thirty (30) days from the judgment date, disclosing all free property of the deceased forming part of his intestate estate for proper administration.
• Costs incurred in the case are awarded to the parties, as determined by the court.

Will Type

Probate Status

Legal Principles

• The court relied on the presumption of parentage established by birth certificates under Section 12 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act. These certificates, unchallenged in evidence, confirmed the deceased's paternity of the applicants' siblings.
• The court emphasized the respondent's failure to disclose material information about the deceased's children from a prior marriage, which constitutes a breach of the duty to provide accurate details under the Probate and Administration Rules. This non-disclosure was deemed sufficient grounds for revoking the grant of administration.
• The court applied statutory provisions including the Law of Succession Act Sections 76 (revocation grounds), 66 (preference for surviving spouses), and 34 (intestacy definition). It also referenced Probate and Administration Rules 7(1) requiring disclosure of all surviving spouses and children in intestacy cases.

Succession Regime

Precedent Name

• Raphael Ratemo & Another v Emily Nakhanu Musina
• Estate of Wilfred Kihara Kariuki (Deceased)
• CWM v JPM

Executor Name

• Florence Nduta Kamau
• Rachel Wanjiru Kamau

Cited Statute

• Births and Deaths Registration Act, Cap 149
• Law of Succession Act
• Probate and Administration Rules
• Matrimonial Property Act

Executor Appointment

• Appointed as joint administrator representing children of Isabella Njeri Kamau.
• Appointed as administrator of the deceased's estate by court order.

Judge Name

Passage Text

• The Petitioner asserted that she included in the petition only property of the deceased in respect of which she had made a contribution. This means that property of the deceased in which she did not make a contribution was excluded. Given that a person is deemed to die intestate in respect of all, not part of, his free property of which he has not made a will, it is necessary that all free property of the deceased should be included in the administration of the estate.
• The following orders therefore commend themselves to me and I hereby order as follows: 1. The grant of letters of administration issued on 28th June, 2017 to Florence Nduta Kamau is hereby revoked, and shall be substituted with a grant in the joint names of Florence Nduta Kamau and Rachel Wanjiru Kamau. The latter shall be included as a representative of the children of the deceased with Isabella Njeri Kamau.
• From all the foregoing, I draw the following conclusions: the Petitioner, Florence Nduta, when filing the petition failed to disclose the existence of all the children of the deceased although she was seized of that information. This amounted to material non-disclosure, that could exclude them from being involved in the administration of the intestate estate of the deceased.

Beneficiary Classes

• Child / Issue
• Spouse / Civil Partner