Lwam vs. Ida: If it’s juicy, let media run it, judge tells ex-premier’s wife

Additional reporting by Sheila Mutua

Attempts by Ida Odinga, through her lawyer, to stop the media from publishing details about the Fidel Odinga property row pitting his widow, Lwam Bekele, against Ida and her daughter, Winnie, have been thwarted by High Court judge Aggrey Muchelule.

Ida’s lawyer, Victor Olao, sought orders from Muchelule on Wednesday to have the media stopped from covering the dispute that has ended up in the public space.

“You are fighting in an open court; therefore, we cannot stop the media [from accessing the courtroom, or covering the case]. If the media finds the story juicy, let them publish [its details],” Muchelule told Olao.

Muchelule, earlier Wednesday, ordered a DNA test on twins allegedly sired by the late Fidel Odinga.

The judge directed that the test be conducted to ascertain the paternity of the two before proceeding with the succession case.

This is after Lwam objected to an application filed by Ida Odinga and her daughter, Winnie, seeking for grant of representative in the estate.

In her response, Lwam asserted that her son is the only heir to her late husband’s properties, denying knowledge of the said twins whose interest was raised by Ida and Winnie.

Lwam said Ida and Winnie’s application to have her son co-share the properties with the twins has been overtaken by events, having been allegedly filed outside timelines stipulated by the law of succession.

She said the grant of letters of administration of the estate was already issued on January 9, 2019.

Lwam claims that birth certificates of the twins, which were attached in Ida and Winnie’s affidavits, did not indicate the father of the minors, hence it is yet to be proven that Fidel sired the children.

She further claims the birth certificates show the minors were born on July 1, 2015, six months after Fidel’s death but Ida and Winnie alleged Fidel was already supporting the children.

But Lwam said that if it’s proven that her late husband fathered the minors, she will include them as beneficiaries.

The widow also denied claims that she has hidden her son from Raila’s family or even withdrawn him from the formal education system as alleged by her mother-in-law.