Relief For Men As Court Declares Part Of Succession Law Unconstitutional

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The High Court declared Section 29(c) of the Law of Succession Act unconstitutional, citing gender-based discrimination against widowers.

High Court judge Justice Lawrence Mugambi ruled that the provision—which requires a husband to prove he was dependent on his deceased wife in order to qualify as a beneficiary of her estate—violates the Constitution’s guarantees of equality and non-discrimination.

The ruling sets a critical precedent in aligning Kenya’s succession laws with constitutional standards on gender equality and may trigger broader reforms in inheritance law.

This is after a case was filed by a man identified as the husband of the late Caroline Wawira Njagi.

Documents show the two had been married under Kiembu Customary Law since 2002 and had two children.

Despite their separation in 2022, the couple maintained cordial relations and jointly raised their children.

Following Wawira’s death in July 2023, the petitioner was excluded from burial arrangements by the deceased’s partner, prompting a legal battle that ultimately granted him burial rights through the Mavoko Law Courts.

The main issue in the constitutional petition lay in the petitioner’s challenge to Section 29(c) of the Law of Succession Act, which he argued placed a discriminatory burden on widowers—one not faced by widows under the same law.

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