A 62-year-old man who claims to be the biological first son of late President Mwai Kibaki has gone to court, demanding to know if the former Head of State bequeathed him part of his wealth.
Jacob Ocholla Mwai has asked the Nyeri Family Court to order the Kibaki family to recognize him as the late President’s firstborn son and to give him an equal share of the late President’s vast wealth.
Mr Ocholla has filed a succession dispute order through his lawyers Omoke Morara and Ms Peacela Atim, requesting that Kibaki’s children, Judy Kibaki, David Kagai, Jimmy Kibaki, and Anthony Githinji, begin distributing the former President’s estate.
In his case filed last week, Ocholla claims that he fears he might be left out during the succession process.
“That the Citor (Ocholla Mwai) has attempted to reach out to the Citees (Kibaki Children) multiple times but his efforts have not been successful. The Citor is afraid that the Citees might proceed with succession process without involving him and he might be left out of the estate of the deceased despite him being entitled to the share of the estate,” the court documents read in part.
He wants the court to compel the former president’s children, Judy Kibaki, David Kagai, Jimmy Kibaki and Anthony Githinji, to reveal whether his name was included in a will he alleges was drafted by the former president before his demise.
According to Ocholla’s affidavit, at the time Kibaki died, he might have already written his Will and he is seeking to know who should be appointed as the administrator of Kibaki’s estate and who should benefit from it.
“It appears that Jacob Ocholla Mwai is the lawful son of the deceased and one of the persons entitled to share in his undisposed estate. Now this is to direct you (Kibaki children) to appear in the High Court at Nyeri and accept or refuse the probate of the said will or show cause why letters of administration of Kibaki’s estate should not be granted to Ocholla.”
“Take notice that in default of your so appearing and accepting extracting probate of the said will, this court may proceed to grant letters of administration of the said to estate to Jacob Ocholla Mwai, your absence notwithstanding.”
Lady Justice Florence Muchemi is hearing the case and has directed that it be mentioned before the court on September 19, this year, when she will give directions on how to proceed with the hearing.
Justice Muchemi has also ordered the Kibaki family to respond within 21 days.
According to court documents, Ocholla stated that he chose to make his parentage public now rather than when Mr Kibaki was alive because when they first met, the former President not only acknowledged that he was his biological father, but also asked him to always respect him as a father and never do anything that would injure his (Kibaki’s) character.
He added that he had sought the intervention of a senior Catholic cleric and a senior Judge (both now retired), hired three sets of lawyers, and met with Mr Kibaki’s older sister, Mrs Esther Waitherero (now deceased), all to no avail.
