Ida Odinga, Fidel’s widow take battle to court

The High Court in Nairobi has ordered a DNA test on twins allegedly sired by the late Fidel Odinga.

Justice Aggrey Muchelule directed that the test be conducted to ascertain the paternity of the two before proceeding with the succession case.

This is after Fidel’s widow, Lwam Bekele, objected to an application filed by Ida Odinga and her daughter, Winnie, seeking for grant of representative in the estate.

In her response, Lwam asserted that her son is the only heir to her late husband’s properties, denying knowledge of the said twins whose interest was raised by Ida and Winnie.

Lwam said Ida and Winnie’s application to have her son co-share the properties with the twins has been overtaken by events, having been allegedly filed outside timelines stipulated by the law of succession.

She said the grant of letters of administration of the estate was already issued on January 9, 2019.

Lwam claims that birth certificates of the twins, which were attached in Ida and Winnie’s affidavits, did not indicate the father of the minors, hence it is yet to be proven that Fidel sired the children.

She further claims the birth certificates show the minors were born on July 1, 2015, six months after Fidel’s death but Ida and Winnie alleged Fidel was already supporting the children.

But Lwam said that if it’s proven that her late husband fathered the minors, she will include them as beneficiaries.

The widow also denied claims that she has hidden her son from Raila’s family or even withdrawn him from the formal education system as alleged by her mother-in-law.