Former Taita Taveta Governor John Mruttu has petitioned the National Assembly to simplify inheritance procedures and address delays in estate administration across the country.

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He presented the petition before the Public Petitions Committee on Tuesday, June 16, proposing the establishment of a national Multi-Sectoral Task Force on Succession and Inheritance Reform to review and amend the Law of Succession Act (Cap. 160).

Mruttu argued that lengthy and costly succession processes have left millions of Kenyans using and developing land that is still registered in the names of deceased persons, limiting their ability to fully access and benefit from those assets.

“As a result, productive assets remain physically present but economically constrained. The living work the land, yet in the State’s records, the dead still own it,” he stated.

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Mruttu says the gap between legal ownership and economic use has created a major barrier to unlocking family and rural wealth.

“This disconnect between economic reality and legal ownership has quietly become one of Kenya’s most significant yet least discussed development challenges. Succession reform should therefore be viewed not merely as an inheritance issue but as a justice issue, an economic transformation issue, and an opportunity to unlock rural capital for inclusive national development,” he said.

Mruttu is proposing reforms including simplified succession procedures for small estates, administrative settlement of uncontested estates, and expanded, decentralised probate services.

Further, the former governor wants the proposed task force to undertake a nationwide review of succession laws and related frameworks to improve efficiency and access to justice in inheritance matters .

In agreement, Speaker Moses Wetang’ula noted that the current legal framework does not adequately guarantee timely and affordable succession processes.

“The petitioners therefore pray that this House initiate a review and amendment of the Law of Succession Act (Cap. 160) to provide for simplified succession procedures for small estates, administrative settlement of uncontested estates, and expanded and decentralized probate services across the country,” he said.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke