Bill in Kenya Seeks to Lock Out Secret Lovers and Illegitimate Children from Inheritance

Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma has sponsored a new Bill seeking to lock out secret lovers and their children from inheritance if their married partners pass away.

If the Law of Succession (Amendment) Bill 2020 is passed, the inheritance will be limited to legal spouses, children, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, stepchildren, brothers, sisters, and half-brothers who depended on the deceased.

The proposed Bill seeks to amend Section 3 of the Law of Succession Act to read that a spouse means a husband or wife, or wives recognized under the Marriage Act.

“The spouse, for inheritance, must be the spouse as defined in the Marriage Act, not a mere friend that we currently have,” says Kaluma.

He says the Bill seeks to stop cases where people resurface for purposes of inheritance after the death of a person.

“You have seen cases where people die especially men and people who do not qualify to be spouses under the Marriage Act emerge while your wife is mourning rush to court to petition the partitioning of the estate. The person who was hiding with you away from your family petitions, and because of the current broad definitions of wife, disinherits the family,” adds Kaluma.

Further to this, Kaluma wants Section 29 of the Act, which defines who a dependent is, amended to state that a dependent is a spouse and the children of a deceased. The Bill is currently at the second reading before the National Assembly.

Expressing his support for the Bill, Nyaribari Chache MP Richard Tong’i said: “The culture of women contributing nothing towards the acquisition of wealth but are quick to claim a share when a man dies must come to an end.”