A woman claiming to be the widow of former Nyeri Governor, Wahome Gakuru, now wants a share of his Ksh55 million estate.
The woman, who has since filed a suit at the High Court in Nyeri, claims that she was the wife of the late Governor after he reportedly separated from Catherine Kirumba Karemu.
On May 6, 2021, the High Court issued a certificate of confirmation of grant to Catherine Karemu, allowing her to take full control of the late governor’s estate.
Justice Abigale Mshila allowed Karemu, and her three sons, to be the only beneficiaries of Gakuru’s estate.
The governor died at Thika Level 5 Hospital after he was involved in a road accident at Kabati, along the Nyeri-Nairobi highway on November 7, 2017.
In a request, the woman wanted the court to revoke the grant to Karemu claiming that Gakuru separated from her (Karemu) in 2008 and that the two were in divorce proceedings by the time of the governor's demise.
“I was his wife, having cohabited with him for seven years from 2010 to 2017, and was blessed with a son before the deceased met his death in a road accident,” she mentioned in her court documents.
She said that Gakuru used to pay her rent at Opal Court and Belmout Court in Kilimani, and that the request for a grant by Karemu omitted her name and that of her son from the list of beneficiaries.
She proposes, in her court documents, that the property left behind by the governor be shared among six beneficiaries, including herself and her son.
In a replying statement, Karemu says that she is the only wife of the late governor. She says the woman in question is a stranger and denies any claims of a relationship between her and Gakuru.
The property and assets that Karemu and her three sons inherited include a parcel of land registered in Kiambu's Runda estate, and another property registered in Ngong.
Karemu will also be the sole beneficiary of all terminal dues and benefits from the County Government of Nyeri as well as three vehicles, registered in the name of the deceased.
