A court in Eldoret has directed that DNA tests be conducted to confirm whether Edna Chekoech Tanui is a daughter of Kibyego Chepkwony.
Edna has moved to court seeking a share of Chepkwony's estate claiming she was born out of wedlock.
Justice Reuben Nyakundi ruled that a paternity test be conducted within 45 days, drawing genetic comparisons from the surviving children of Chepkwony.
Chepkwony died on May 3, 1994, leaving behind substantial real estate, vehicles and shareholdings. He died without a will.
The test will determine whether Edna is his biological daughter.
A grant of letters of administration was issued to his widow Veronica Jepsuge Chepkwony in 1996 and the estate was confirmed and distributed in 2017.
An amended certificate of confirmation was later issued in the name of Kogo Chepkwony Holdings.
Edna, who claims the deceased was her biological father through a relationship with her mother, Rose Tanui, has fought for recognition for years.
Her previous application for revocation of the grant was dismissed in 2024 for lack of evidence.
In her latest application, she sought reinstatement of the suit and an order for DNA testing, arguing she was "left out in the application of grant" yet she is a beneficiary to the estate.
She described her childhood as one marked by deprivation and family rejection.
"Due to the poor upbringing and care, the applicant did not receive quality education the net effect being that she is unemployed currently living on rental rooms just struggling to pay monthly rent, yet the deceased's estate is fairly rich with various properties,” her lawyer says in their affidavits.
She claimed the deceased had initially provided for her through her mother during her early years, but that support evaporated as family relations deteriorated.
Her mother subsequently remarried, leaving the applicant herself unwelcome in the new household and the mother unwilling to assist her.
Edna also claimed that an intervention had been agreed, but which was not honoured.
"Following numerous family meetings some being presided by the area chief, indeed the petitioner herein did recognise the applicant and in effect the petitioner herein entered an agreement with the applicant that she pays the applicant some of money Sh500,000 plus some two acres of land, but which she has failed to fulfil.”
The widow has opposed the DNA request, arguing it was "intrusive and violates constitutional rights including privacy, bodily integrity and dignity".
She submitted that the application was "speculative, oppressive and amounts to a fishing expedition intended to reopen settled succession proceedings without lawful basis.
Veronica contended that as a non-blood relative (a widow), her own DNA could not scientifically or legally establish paternity for the applicant, and no direct, legally admissible DNA sample of the deceased was available.
Justice Nyakundi ordering for the DNA test despite the respondent’s objections.
The judge held that while adults possess constitutional privacy rights, a child’s right to establish their biological parentage and inheritance rights warrants scientific determination when a genuine dispute exists.
“The majority view taken by courts within our jurisdiction is that the court has the power to compel an adult to submit to blood test where it is in the child’s best interest so that clarity is obtained on paternity, as blood test have since established to be a reliable aid or enabler to discerning the truth by way of scientific evidence," Justice Nyakundi said.
“An eminent necessity has arisen for this court to exercise discretion for a declaration that the DNA profile testing be undertaken by the Government Chemist at Kisumu Branch or in the alternative, Kemri Branch at Eldoret within 45 days from today’s ruling.”
