The judiciary has been urged to fast-track the hearing and resolution of a succession dispute involving the family of a former senior engineer with the Ministry of Public Works to prevent further deterioration of family relations.
At the center of the legal battle is the control of the late Eng. Kata Kithyo’s sh.100 million estate. Kithyo was the elder brother of former Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) Chairman, Mumo Matemu.
Kithyo passed away intestate on April 14, 2024, at a hotel in Mtwapa and was later buried in Wamunyu village, Machakos County.
Arianne Nduku Okongo, the fourth child of the late engineer, claims that her father’s legally divorced first wife is using her three children to file multiple court cases, thereby delaying the succession process.
She acknowledged that her father had many children and, at the time of his passing, left behind a widow, a Rwandese national residing in Canada with their daughter, Agnes Murorunkwere, along with six other children from different mothers.
According to Okongo, her father’s first wife, Prisca Mukethe, separated from him in 1982. Kithyo later filed for divorce, which was finalized in 1996 on grounds of adultery and cruelty, as stated in a decree issued by Senior Principal Magistrate Hannah Okwengu. In 1997, he married Murorunkwere, who now lives in Canada.
Okongo alleges that Mukethe is determined to prolong the court battle in an attempt to disinherit the rightful beneficiaries, despite being legally divorced from Kithyo.
Efforts to appoint estate administrators have repeatedly been stalled by legal battles.
Okongo has called on the judiciary to expedite the case, citing mounting family tensions and financial strains.
She also accused Mukethe of cyberbullying through WhatsApp messages, stating, “Every day, she sends me long insults in broken English. At 72 years old, she should be a mother figure, not someone engaging in such behavior.”
Okongo further claimed that Mukethe influenced her three children to include her in the list of beneficiaries, despite the divorce ruling.
Additionally, she clarified that her uncle, Mumo Matemu, is neither a beneficiary nor an administrator of Kithyo’s estate.
“She is also tarnishing my uncle’s name, falsely accusing him of attempting to defraud and disinherit rightful beneficiaries,” Okongo said.
She further accused Mukethe’s children of forcibly taking over two hotels owned by her late father—one in Diani, Kwale County, and another in Athi River, Machakos County—to the detriment of other beneficiaries.
According to Okongo, the dispute has caused significant turmoil, particularly affecting the family’s youngest member, a 15-year-old student in Grade Nine. She noted that his school fees were previously covered by rental income from a property in Ukunda, which is now inaccessible.
“The arrears are piling up, and it seems they do not care about his education,” she lamented.
As the succession case drags on, the family hopes for a swift judicial resolution to prevent further financial and emotional strain.