The family of the late businessman Jacob Juma now risks losing their palatial home in Nairobi’s Karen estate.
This is after numerous suits were filed in court claiming ownership of the land where the mansion sits.
Barely four months after his death, there have been 5 suits filed at the High Court, all claiming to have the real legal documents for the 5.5-acre piece of land.
The latest petition has been filed by Kenya United Sports Limited (KUSL) which has accused the late businessman of forging ownership documents to a land that belongs to KUSL.
Apart from the KUSL suit, there are 4 other cases involving 6 individuals who have laid claim to the same property.
They include: Auriel Marie, Joy Kimemia, Mary Wanjiru Chege, William Silala Sano, Suakei ole Parkire and Latoo Enepriakanga Nchepai
In the KUSL suit, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) have been enjoined as respondents in the suit alongside other individuals accused of using forged documents in support of their claim to the land.
“One of the issues raised in the consolidated suits is whether the land parcel was allocated to Ms Marie, Ms Kimemia or Jacob Juma with the requisite titles to allow them to occupy the land. The mere fact that the said Ms Marie, Ms Kimemia, Mr Juma, Ms Chege, Mr Sano, Mr Parkire and Mr Nchepai hold certificates to the land is evidence that the offence of forgery has arisen and should not be left without legal consequence,” Weston Langat, a director of KUSL as quoted by theBusiness Daily.
Mr Langat says he and his business partner Moses Raptul Lowasikou, were allocated the land on June 12, 1998.
Mr Langat adds that Mr Juma had been summoned to the DCI headquarters to record a statement on how he acquired his title deed, but he had not done so at the time he was killed on May 5.
If KUSL succeeds in the suit that is before Justice Odunga, Mr Juma’s widow will stand to lose the family’s posh homestead.
The homestead, nicknamed ‘Mungore Olukuba Palace’, has a main house with five all-ensuite bedrooms served with expensive fittings reportedly bought from Italy, Canada and Australia. The homestead is also said to have an Administration Police post.
-kenyans.co.ke
