PREMIUM The curse that secured four children's inheritance Her four children now have their claim to ancestral land secured not through a courtroom battle but through the dying words of an old man. News 18 min ago Listen

She had not imagined that in later life, she would rely on a father-in-law's dying declaration, which the family regarded as a curse, to secure an inheritance for her four children.

When the elders arrived, they found that Mr Ndung’u had also summoned his son and four elders from his side of the family.

Mr Ndung’u died on October 16, 2011, leaving behind what the family regarded as a binding declaration over his son's marriage, children and land.