Of ex-diplomat's bitter divorce, 38-year property battle and disinherited children

When Kikuyu wise ancestors said that micii ni ndogo (homes are smoky), they may have foreseen an epic 38-year war between a diplomat and his ex-wife that started with a divorce, transitioned to Kenya’s oldest matrimonial property battle, then a civil dispute, and eventually an intriguing succession case.

The story of Kenya’s former diplomat, Peter Echaria, and Njeri Echaria has refused to die with them for nearly four decades.

So deep was the pain of the break-up that Echaria disinherited his children with Njeri.

This follows Justice Hillary Chemitei’s verdict that the will was legally sound and that the deceased made his wishes while he was mentally sound.

The judge observed that Echaria’s final wishes could have emanated from the differences between him and their mother.

“It is evident that there was animosity between the deceased and the objectors, courtesy perhaps of his sore relationship with their mother, but that did not take away his testamentary capacity and freedom,” said Justice Chemitei.

One boiling issue was whether Echaria was mentally sound when he explained in a will that his former wife and their children would get nothing from him.

His reasoning in the will was that they had gotten part of his property following the court’s declaration that Njeri was entitled to matrimonial property.

After Echaria died on July 21, 2014, a will emerged excluding Njeri’s family from inheritance.

His three children, Lish Kibui, Stephen Ngingi, and Catherine Wanjiku, sued Echaria’s second wife, Dorothy Kanyiva, arguing that their father was unwell and hence could not have authored a legally sound will.

In this case, Kanyiva told the court that she first met Echaria in April 1987 and later married him at the Attorney General’s Chambers.

She narrated that the former ambassador had mentioned to her that he possessed a will but that she only learned about it through senior lawyer Kamau Kuria, who summoned her after his death.

Kanyiva explained that she knew of his former wife and children, adding that she had encouraged him to reconcile with his other family members.

According to her, the house in which Echaria was living was invaded on May 3, 1997, and Njeri and their children left for good.

She said that Echaria wrote his will after the divorce judgment but denied that she had influenced him into making it.

Kanyiva said that he excluded his children from the wealth because he had a strained relationship with them.

Dr. Ramesh Chandra Patel supported Kanyiva’s case. He testified that he knew Echaria from 1989 as a patient and that he was mentally alert until death, despite suffering from a chronic illness.

Another witness was lawyer Gladys Wangia. She said she witnessed the signing of the will dated April 27, 2010, by Echaria. The lawyer stated that she was at the time working for Kamau Kuria and Kariuki Advocates.

According to her, lawyer Wamucii Nyota was the second witness. She further stated that he was in a good state of mind.

Echaria’s brother, John Kamau, gave a contrary story about the late diplomat. He stated that he was surprised that the deceased had excluded Njeri’s house and his family from his will. This, he said, was despite him loving them deeply.

He claimed that Echaria’s behaviour changed after he married Kanyiva and separated from Njeri. According to him, efforts to intervene were fruitless.

Kamau explained that his brother had, however, called him to resolve his marital affairs.

Ngige also testified in opposition to the contents of the will. He told the court that he currently lives in the United States of America.

Ngige narrated that he left home due to disagreements between his parents. According to him, his late father had given express instructions that none of his children should return. Ngige said Echaria locked the homestead.

He testified about an altercation between him and Kanyiva that led to his late father allegedly pointing a gun at him. He said he reported the incident to the police.

About the will, Ngige said he had serious reservations. He claimed he suspected that Kanyiva had influenced his father. He denied assaulting his late father.

Echaria’s matrimonial property case gave women the right to claim a share of their contribution to a family.

The court declared that he should give his wife 25 acres of their 118-acre expansive land in Tigoni, Kiambu County.

Echaria divorced Njeri in 1987 in a case that set a benchmark on women getting a share of matrimonial property.

He was employed as a civil servant in 1961 before being posted to Washington, D.C., as Chargé d’Affaires and later transferred to New York as the United Nations Head of Mission.

He later became Kenya’s ambassador to Ethiopia. His wife was not required to work by law, hence making Echaria the family’s sole breadwinner.

But 31 years on, the family is still in court battling in a case that has mutated from a divorce to a share of matrimonial property and trespass.

After parting ways with his first wife, he married Dorothy Kanyiva.

In the case, Njeri first walked away with half of the 118 acres of land (59 acres), which was then lowered to 25 acres by the Court of Appeal, then the highest court in Kenya.

In 1987, the then highest court in Kenya decided that instead of both getting a 50 percent share, Echaria would walk with three-quarters while Njeri would get a quarter.

In 2007, Njeri sued her former husband for trespassing on her 25 acres. She claimed that his employees had picked tea on her side.

Justice John Osiemo ruled that both parties ought to cool their anger and have surveyors fix beacons on the contested land.

The high drama, twists, and turns did not end there as Echaria and Kanyiva sued Njeri in the High Court, claiming that on May 3, 1997, she evicted their employees from their home and started using it.

They lost but moved to the Court of Appeal, in which Echaria and his second wife accused Njeri of forcefully taking their matrimonial house, which she happened to have shared with him before their divorce.

Before the court, Echaria and his second wife claimed that his former wife had illegally possessed their household goods worth Sh7 million.

Among the items that Njeri was alleged to have confiscated were alcoholic beverages, dogs, a will, books, a KANU certificate, gold jewellery, and clothing, among others.

They also claimed that they spent Sh250,000 to buy personal effects and clothes after Njeri kicked them out.

In total, Echaria and Kanyiva wanted Sh8 million from Njeri.

They further claimed that they were playing golf when they were informed that she had used over 20 armed men to take over the house.

The two claimed that they were housed by their friends for 10 years before finding an alternative place to live.

Echaria and his second wife also sued Njeri, accusing her of forcefully taking their matrimonial house, which she had shared with him before their divorce.

Njeri denied the allegations, arguing that the claims were meant to settle scores born out of the divorce.

Echaria died on July 21, 2014, leaving Njeri and Kanyiva to battle for trespass in the Court of Appeal. In a new twist, the family was again in the High Court, this time over his will.