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{
    "id": 1444377,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1444377/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 187,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Veronica Maina",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "person who departs is organised is managed under the law of succession. That is why it is called the law of succession. Thank you, Senate Majority Leader, for raising an important question on how we present Bills to this House, especially when amending sections of law. That when we do the cross reference, it is important that we have the sections that are being cross- referenced. I guess that is for the Secretariat to improve on how we present the Bill, so that it is easier for hon. Senators to be able to debate. If I may look at one of the questions that the Senate Majority Leader, Sen. Cheruiyot, raised, it is in relation to Section 40. This is a section that deals with the system of law that recognises polygamy and the estate of a deceased person in the event that they die when in a polygamous situation and without a will. It provides for distribution of that estate according to the houses or what you call units. For example, if a deceased had two wives, and wife ‘A’ has three children, while wife ‘B’ has four children, wife ‘A’ with three children will be four units. Wife ‘B,’ who say has four will be five units plus. Each person is treated as a unit in law. If you have an additional child, then that child will be treated as one unit. They are not going to say that a child who comes out of the first home takes half by herself or himself just because they come from another home. No. If the child is one, they will be treated as one unit. If the other family has three children, they will be treated as three plus one, the one being the wife. So, they will be treated as four on the first house and one on the second house. That will be five units. Each person gets an equal treatment in law. How do we deal with the distribution of that estate? If, for instance, you say the estate was worth Kshs2 million and there were 10 units, then it would be divided among the 10 units. Let me also thank Sen. Omogeni, who has extensively dealt with the issue of this amendment. There was an attempt in the previous Senate to make some amendments to the Law of Succession Act, but it did not succeed. We hope that this will eventually see the light of day. He raises an important question on people who consider writing down their will, so that they can attest to it. When a person writes down their will, the testator puts down how he would intend the estate to be distributed among his dependents or beneficiaries. It makes it easier for everybody. If such a person dies and they have written a will that is legal and not challengeable in court, it makes it easy for the distribution of the estate. The court would adopt the will and proceed to allow distribution of the estate describing how it should be undertaken. I am happy that the example of our late Hon. Judge Justice Majanja has been used to show that when a man plans his estate, then everything becomes a lighter burden to those who are left surviving. Sen. Wambua, I thank you also for the contribution and the concern you have raised that a marriage should not just be about properties. Marriage is actually a God- given institution and the concentration should not be on property. However, properties cannot be ignored because for that marriage or family to provide for the children, there are things that must be done for livelihood and subsistence. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}