JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
On the 14th day of January PETER MBAUNI MAINA (hereinafter“the deceased” ) died of natural causes at the age of 83 years. He died intestate. It follows therefore that his estate falls for administration under the Law of Succession Act, Cap 160, Laws of Kenya (“the Act”) which came into force on 1st July, 1981 despite enactment by Parliament in 1972.
It is common ground that the deceased was married to his first wife, Wandeto (or Watetu) Mbauni who died in 1941 leaving two children of that marriage: Gregory Maina Mbauni (Gregory) and his sister Njamie Mbauni (Njamie). Seven years after the death of the first wife, the deceased married another wife; Catherine Nyaguthii Mbauni (Catherine) with whom he had three sons and one daughter, namely: Gabriel Thuita, David Maina, Michael Githuku and Margaret Wanjiru. Njamie, the daughter by the first wife, cohabited with a man, since deceased, between 1954 and 1957 when Njamie died. She had two children out of that cohabitation…