The man told the court that his mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia and she was not fit to manage her estate, but the judge disagreed with him.
According to the judge, the woman identified in court papers only as A.N was mentally fit to handle her estate. The judge, however, opined that the elderly woman was suffering from loneliness.
Justice Maureen Odero noted that the woman, 76, was like many of her peers suffering from being abandoned by her family and that she had physical wounds and not psychological as her son had alleged.
“Indeed it is a fact that in African societies the elderly are not left to manage on their own. The family will always make provisions and ensure there are people around to provide companionship and care for the elderly,” the judge stated.
“In my view, the odd behaviour of the subject may not have arisen strictly due to her mental disorder, but rather arose on account of lack of supervision and companionship in her life.”
The son, code-named CNM in the court papers, told the court that his mother threw everyone out of her house. According to the petitioner, AN also refused to take her medication.
He told the court that he had to seek the intervention of local authorities who broke into the home and found his mother living in poor conditions.
The man, who lives in the US, stated in his petition that by the time they got access to the house, they found his mother in a dirty home and she had soiled herself.
He pleaded with the court to grant him control over his mother’s estate so that he can take care of the 76-year-old by footing her medical bills.
On her part, the elderly woman told the court that she had not been diagnosed with a mental illness and expressed her disappointment in her son for filing the lawsuit against her.
Source: KENYAGIST.COM