• Before he died, man called his two brothers including the fathers of Kagori and Njoroge and made the will bequeathing his wealth to Njoroge.
• The two cousins have been fighting over Gono’s estate.
Image: FILE
A court in Nairobi on Monday considered an oral will made 30 years ago to decide a property inheritance dispute.
Justice Aggrey Muchelule ruled that David Njoroge was indeed the only heir to the estate of Thinwa Gono and not his cousin Peter Kagori.
“I find that the deceased Thinwa Gono left an oral will in which he bequeathed his land and all his other properties to Njoroge,” Muchelule said.
Both Njoroge and Kagori are nephews to the deceased.
The two cousins have been fighting over Gono’s estate. The man died close to 30 years ago. He was not married and did not have any children.
The court said a will may be made orally or in writing and for an oral will to be valid, it has to be made before two or more competent witnesses.
The oral will only applies when the testator dies within a period of three months from the time the will is made.
Kagori moved to court, saying he was entitled to half of his uncle's estate.
Gono died of cancer in 1990. Before he died, he called his two brothers including the fathers of Kagori and Njoroge and made the will bequeathing his wealth to Njoroge.
Njoroge said he was the one taking care of his uncle and was also present at the meeting where the will was made.
Both Njoroge's and Kagori's fathers have since died.
At the time that Gono died, the court noted that Kagori was one year old so there was no way he could have been present at the said meeting to know what his late uncle said. “He was not present at the time when the bequest was done,” Muchelule said.
According to Kagori, the oral will directed that all his wealth be shared equally between him and his cousin Njoroge.
“There is no evidence that the deceased was not of sound mind when he called the meeting on July 19, 1990, during which he bequeathed his property to Njoroge,” the court ruled.
He said the two witnesses Kagori called to testify said they were not present when the oral will was made. Njoroge’s two witnesses said Gono gave his wealth to him.
“On a balance and on the evidence and the material that was presented, I accept the version of Njoroge and discount Kagori’s version,” Muchelule ruled.
Edited by Peter Obuya