An ailing widow from Mwingi has accused Nairobi lawyer and aspiring politician Kinyua Mwaniki of failing to remit millions awarded to her by a Makindu court following the death of her husband in a tragic road accident.
Court documents obtained by Channel 15 News show that the Senior Principal Magistrates Court at Makindu awarded Wainji Maluki KSh 3,098,213 in July 2019 after finding the defendants largely liable for a 2012 crash along the Nairobi–Mombasa Highway. Her late husband, a Kenya Power employee, died while undergoing treatment at Aga Khan Hospital after sustaining multiple injuries.The compensation, granted under Civil Suit No. 90 of 2015, was meant to secure the future of the widow and her four children after years of legal struggle.
But nearly six years later, the mother of four says the victory remains only on paper.
According to a formal demand letter seen by Channel 15 News, the defendants’ insurer, Directline Assurance Company Limited, made a partial payment of KSh 1.5 million on October 22, 2019 to Kinyua Mwaniki & Wainaina Advocates, the firm that represented her at the time. The remaining KSh 1.5 million was reportedly deposited into a joint interest-earning account pending appeal.
The widow now claims she was neither informed of the payment nor received the funds.
In the demand, her new legal representatives accuse the former advocate of receiving the money and failing to transmit it to the client, despite repeated attempts to seek updates.
The letter issues a seven-day ultimatum for the immediate release of the KSh 1.5 million allegedly received in 2019 and calls for all remaining funds held in the joint account to be transmitted to the client.
Channel 15 News has seen copies of receipts indicating that the widow had paid legal fees as agreed under a contingency arrangement.
The dispute has taken on a painful dimension as medical records from German Medical Center confirm that Wainji Maluki is battling recurrent colon cancer with suspected metastasis to the lungs and liver.
The condition requires urgent and specialized treatment, placing immense financial strain on her and her family.
Channel 15 News understands that Mr. Mwaniki is an aspiring politician, a development that could place the matter under heightened public scrutiny as calls for accountability grow.
Efforts to reach Mr. Mwaniki for comment were unsuccessful by the time of publication.
Residents in Mwingi are now urging the Law Society of Kenya to investigate the matter and ensure the widow receives the compensation awarded by the court.
For a woman battling advanced illness, the delay is more than a legal dispute. It is a race against time.
