Kibaki Estate Saga Deepens

The succession dispute over former President Mwai Kibaki's estate has intensified as two new claimants have emerged to challenge his 2016 will.

Jacob Ochola Mwai and an individual identified only as JNL appeared before Justice Edric Ogola, declaring their intention to contest the will's authenticity, citing suspected forgery. In Thursday's proceedings, Justice Ogola issued a directive requiring the objectors to submit their formal challenge within 14 days, with responding parties to file their submissions before the scheduled hearing on June 26, 2025. This development coincides with pending arguments regarding a controversial request to exhume Kibaki's remains for DNA testing to verify Ochola's paternal claim.

The current executors of the will, comprising Kibaki's recognized children Judith, Jimmy Kibaki, David Kagai, and Anthony Githinji, face opposition from both Ochola and JNL, who seek recognition as legitimate beneficiaries. Through legal representation by Morara Omoke, Ochola has proposed comprehensive DNA testing involving Judith, his purported siblings, himself, and JNL to establish their biological connection to the deceased president. The executors' counsel Ashford Mugwuku contends that challenging the will undermines existing progress in estate administration.

The contested document, spanning six pages and executed in 2016, provides for an equal distribution of Kibaki's undisclosed assets among his four acknowledged children, specifically excluding in-laws from the inheritance. Judith and her co-executors have strongly opposed the exhumation request, arguing that it fails to meet necessary legal requirements. They question Ochola's six-decade delay in seeking recognition as Kibaki's offspring and dismiss claims of physical resemblance as insufficient grounds for such an extraordinary measure. The timing of Ochola's claim, initially filed in September 2022, has drawn scrutiny.

His legal team argues that DNA testing represents the most definitive means of establishing paternity, citing previous Kenyan cases where exhumation was permitted for similar purposes. They emphasize that the reluctance of recognized heirs to undergo sibling DNA testing necessitates the more extreme measure of exhumation. The recognized family members have emphasized Kibaki's status as a former Head of State who received a State Funeral, arguing that the financial burden and emotional trauma associated with exhumation and reinterment would be disproportionate to the merits of Ochola's claims.