NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 29 — The family of the late former powerful minister Simeon Nyachae has scored a legal victory after the High Court dismissed claims by Margaret Chweya, an American-based Kenyan who alleged she was Nyachae’s widow.
Justice Eric Ogola ruled that Chweya was not legally married to the late minister and that her two sons cannot be considered dependents of Nyachae, as their biological fathers are alive and capable of providing for them.
The judgment, in matter E1780 of 2022, addressed three central issues: whether Chweya was Nyachae’s wife, whether she should benefit from his estate, and whether her two children were dependents of the deceased.
The court applied Gusii customary marriage requirements, including the payment of a bride price, traditional ceremonies, and other rites, noting that Chweya failed to prove any of these had taken place.
“The first applicant claimed that she married the deceased under the Kisii customary marriage. Throughout evidence she has not in any way proved that the said ceremony was ever done,” Justice Ogola ruled.
“There’s no witness to the said wedding ceremony. Pictures alone cannot prove marriage. This court finds and holds that the first applicant was not a wife to the deceased honorable Simeon Nyachae.”
The court further noted that Chweya had received financial support from other sources, not Nyachae, and that her two sons were fathered by Michael Pondo and Jacob Machuki Mokaya, who had cared for them before the dispute arose.
The judgment praised the fourth applicant, who had disowned the proceedings, as demonstrating maturity and morality.
“This court finds that the applicants have no legal or moral claim to the estate of the late Simeon Nyachae and may seek inheritance only from their biological fathers,” Justice Ogola added.
The summons filed by Chweya on March 11, 2022, was dismissed, and the applicants were ordered to pay the costs of the proceedings.
The court also allowed a 30-day stay of execution pending appeal, urging the estate executors to proceed with distribution to legitimate beneficiaries.
The ruling follows an investigation by the Nyachae family, which traced Chweya’s marital history and found she had been married four times previously.
Affidavits from her former husbands corroborated that she was not married to Nyachae at the time of his death.
The decision marks a significant victory for the Nyachae family, bringing clarity to a protracted legal dispute over one of Kenya’s most prominent estates.
