A Milimani Principal Magistrate has become the talk of town following her persistent pursuit of the fortune of a late married police officer even after losing in courts.
Irene Ruguru Ngotho, 53 has lost the case to be recognised as a widow of late Chief Inspector of Police John Njoroge who died in March 8 and was buried in Murang’a on May 1.
The Magistrate who purported they were a couple also lost the case to bury him.
She also wanted a share of the deceased wealth but that too has hit a snag after fellow Magistrate and Judge at Milimani Law courts ruled in favour of Anne Nduku, Njoroge’s wife and mother of six.
Njoroge was former head of dreaded Flying Squad and brother to Joseph Kamau, the former Director of Criminal Investigations Department (Now DCI).
In the corridors of justice, it is whispered the Kabete-born Magistrate is after something else going by how unrelenting she is even after losing a case, she is popping up with another.
After the burial, she wanted an exhumation to be carried out for DNA to be conducted to establish if the child she sired days after Njoroge died was his so to claim the deceased’s fortune. This too was not successful.
In an affidavit Ruguru claimed she and Njoroge who died aged 65 were married and even lived together at Jacaranda Gardens estate along Kamiti Road, Kahawa West.
It was here Njoroge fell ill and she rushed him to AAR hospital along Kiambu road where she passed on.
“When John was first treated at the hospital, he supplied crucial information such as his next of kin and he clearly nominated me as wife and next of kin in the hospital records” Ruguru claimed in the affidavit.
According to her, Njoroge was building her a home on her three plots she owns in Juja, Kiambu County. She claimed he sought an affidavit of marriage before starting to build the said home.
The said property was however found not to have any links to the slain cop.
To buttress her union with him, she claimed; “I suffered childlessness for many years and John walked with me throughout the painful journey of having a child and saw me through three miscarriages”.
On April 15, a Senior Principal Magistrate directed the issuance of burial permit to Njoroge’s son Peter Kamau to proceed with the burial.
In a quick appeal at a higher court, Ruguru requested to be recognised as widow jointly with the deceased’s first wife Anne.
Judge HK Chemitei ruling on the appeal on April 30 upheld the earlier verdict of lower court.
“The trial court found that the short period she stayed with Njoroge could not be equated to a marriage. The applicant as a matter of fact boasts of two issues, namely, that the deceased had a child with her who she never saw as was born after his demise and secondly a house which she claims was building for her in her parcel of land. Other than that, she has no other claim and without prejudice to the appeal, the trial court was right in finding that the cohabitation was not all that long” Judge Chemitei said.
Adding; “I respectfully do not find any evidence that the applicant will suffer any loss should the application be disallowed. She for instance did not show any evidence that she was going to bury the body in her place and what she will suffer if the said Peter Kamau is given the body”.
He said Ruguru’s rights “Shall be addressed at the succession level where she will have all the time to establish whether she was a wife. She will also be able to establish whether the new born child indeed belonged to her and the deceased”.
Ruguru had dragged Njoroge’s older brother Joseph Kamau and in recent case she has filed, she is suing Njoroge’s son Peter Kamau over “contempt of court” for what she claims failing to inform her the burial date and not involving her in preparations.
