Ida Odinga and her daughter-in-law Lwam Bekele have been granted 14 days to negotiate an out of court settlement over the control of the late Fidel Odinga’s estate.
High Court Judge Aggrey Muchelule directed that the matter be mentioned on November 27 to confirm the progress of the negotiations.
The directive was issued after lawyer Rogers Sagana acting for Lwam said negotiations had kicked off but they were yet to reach an agreement.
At the same time, the court enjoined Phoebe Akinyi Gweno in the case as an interested party. Gweno requested to join the case so as to state her position to clear the air and protect her children's interests.
The family is embroiled in dispute after the Odingas accused Lwam, widow of their son Fidel, of sidelining the twins he allegedly sired with Gweno.
Ida and her daughter Winnie filed the case at Milimani law courts opposing the granting of the rights of administration of the late Fidel's estate to Lwam. The grant of letters of administration of the estate was issued on January 9, 2019.
Ida and Winnie said Fidel had twins – a girl and a boy – with another woman. They said the twins are legally his dependents.
“The petitioner has deliberately failed to include and provide or otherwise show the intention of providing for the said minors hence a red flag on her intentions,” Ida said.
She said Fidel had twins with Gweno who are legally his dependants.
Bekelle, through her lawyers, termed her mother-in-law's assertions a concoction of facts given that the said twins were born six months after Fidel's death.
However, she said she did not have a problem accepting the minors as beneficiaries of her husband's estate if it was proved they are his children.
Gweno has since objected to have her twins subjected to DNA tests, saying she was not interested in the late Fidel Odinga’s property and that she is the one who knows the father of her children.
She adds that the DNA test results will negatively affect her children psychologically and dehumanise them.
