Wheels of justice/FIle
The High Court will today issue directions in a case in which ex-Savannah Clinker Boss Benson Ndeta is challenging his prosecution over Sh4.5 billion fraud charges.
The matter is listed before Justice Bahati Mwamuye.
Ndeta was charged before a Magistrates court with conspiracy to commit a felony, obtaining execution of a security by false pretence and uttering false documents.
He denied the charges but before the court could deliver his ruling on his bail application, he obtained an order from the High Court blocking his prosecution.
Justice Mwamuye at the time ordered his release pending the determination of the application he had filed.
Children born out of wedlock case
The Supreme Court is set to hear an appeal on whether or not children born out of wedlock are entitled to benefits from the estate of their deceased Muslim father.
In 2023, the court of appeal held that it's unfair and discriminatory for children born out of wedlock not to benefit from the estate of their deceased father.
Justices Pauline Nyamweya, George Odunga and Gatembu Kairu declined to uphold an Islamic law that provides that children born out of wedlock are not entitled to benefit from the estate of their deceased father.
They said any cultural practice that discriminates against children on the grounds of their parent’s marital status must be abhorred.
But the court of appeal Judges said to hold that those children born out of wedlock are not to benefit from the same estate would amount to unfair and unjustified discrimination.
"No rational justification has been placed before us and we are unable to find any to warrant creating a distinction between such children when it comes to their entitlement to the estate of their father," the court of appeal judges ruled.
"To deny children born out of wedlock the benefit which accrues to other children born in wedlock based on the alleged “sins” committed by their parents, in our view cannot be justified since it would mean that this Court would be adopting “hurtful discrimination and stereotypical response” to a clear case of discrimination," they added.
Today, the Supreme Court will be hearing an appeal based on this decision.
