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Deaths of Kenyan billionaires that plunged kin in succession battles

Deaths of Kenyan billionaires that plunged kin in succession battles
Deaths of Kenyan billionaires that plunged kin in succession battles

They lived in wealth and splendour, died and left behind billions of shillings yet their surviving spouses and children are living in squalor as they battle in court to control the vast estates.

That the granddaughter of the late billionaire and former Cabinet minister Njengaย Karumeย could miss out on treatment over lack of funds due toย succession dispute, is telling.

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In her death, Michelleย Karumeย has become the poster child of the succession battle within theย Karumeย family and offers a peek into the complex financial matters once the patriarch of a family departs.

The result is bank accounts holding billions of shillings have been frozen, unable to benefit the dependents.

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For instance, seven years sinceย Karumeโ€™s death in 2012,ย his family is yet to agree on how they will share his estate. There areย three casesย pending in court.

In one case, the late politicianโ€™s children want to stop execution of the Will.

Njenga Karume [Photo: Courtesy]

Karume left a Will when he died on February24 2012, a document prepared with the help of Iseme Kamau and Maema (IKM) Advocates.

The Will was propounded and proved on April 2014 and the High Court issued a grant of probate with the written Will on April 2014 to James Raymond Njenga, Stephen Ndungโ€™u Karau and Francisca Wanjiku Kahiu.

Granted powers

The deceased also left a Declaration of Trust dated May 3, 2011 incorporating the Njenga Karume Trust.

The family is also embroiled in a legal tussle with the trustees the politician placed in charge of his estate, a dispute that saw the court refer the parties to mediation.

Succession battles form part of the 15,000 pending cases in the Judiciary that are more than five years old.

In November, the High Court is expected to concludeย the succession case involving the estate of the late powerful minister Mbiyuย Koinange.

The matter has been pending for three decades.

Theย beneficiaries of his estate estimated to be more than Sh10 billion, haveย tabled proposals on how the property should be distributed.ย Koinangeย died on September 3, 1981 without leaving a Will.

Mbiyu Koinange [Photo: Courtesy]

Two of his four widows want the property distributed equally among them as per the Kikuyu customary law while the other two propose that the estate be shared amongย Koinangeโ€™sย 20 dependents including children, grand-children and daughters-in-law.

Theย sharing out of theย late city tycoon and formerย Stareheย MPย Gerishonย Kirimaโ€™sย estateย is also complicated by conspiratoryย factors of multipleย spousesย and half-siblings.

But even as they work on a solution in court, the estate continues to accrue debts such as tax owed to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).

Last year, the Auditor Generalโ€™s office queried whyย KRAย had failed to collect millions of shillings in tax from the estate of the politician who died inย December 2010.

The Auditor General said the outstanding ledger on the lateย Kirimaโ€™sย estate stood at Sh374ย million while the estate did not file returns in 2015 and 2016.

The late formerย Transportย Minister Johnย Michukiโ€™sย children are also locked in a legal battle over control of the Sh10 billion estate.

Yvonneย Wanja – Michukiโ€™s youngestย childย –ย moved to court toย claim aย sixth of her late fatherโ€™s property, on the grounds that her two siblings who were granted powers by the High Court to administer the estate have caused one of the major assets to incur huge liabilities.

John Michuki [Photo: Courtesy]

Justice Lukaย Kimaruย had given the late ministerโ€™s childrenย -Anne and Fredย – letters to administer the estate following a successful application filed on December 14, 2012 after the demise of their mother Mrs Josephineย Michuki.

They argued that their mother allowed them in her Will dated June 24, 2009 to be her personal representatives in legal processes. Theyย also wanted their fatherโ€™s Will, prepared on March 6, 1973,ย confirmed by the court andย letters of grant given to them.

The family ofย the late spy chief Jamesย Kanyotuย who served in former President Jomoย Kenyatta and Moiโ€™sย regimesย are also in a similar predicament.

Kanyotuย diedย without writing aย Will, leaving his two widows and children scrambling for theย multi-billion shilling estate.

One of his widows, Janeย Gathoniย filed an inventory list in court thatย listedย the late spy chiefโ€™s stake inย 22 companies,ย hisย expansive parcels of land, cars and an unknown amount of money in several banks.

James Konyotu [Photo: Courtesy]

And three sons of the late billionaire Mbugua Mwangi, are also tussling over management of a family company that controlsย property in Kiambu.

At stake is control of the family company –ย Ndundeย Investments Limited – whose portfolio includes pristine camping site, Paradise Lost in Kiambu County,ย Misararaย andย Kasariniย Coffee Farm in Kiambu and the expansive Sugurorย Ranch in Laikipia.

Daniel Mwangi has sued his two brothers Isaacย Gichiaย and Josephย Mbaiย for allegedly short-changing him.

Mwangi claims he has not received any dividends from the company and did not benefit from some Sh300 million from the sale of 20 acres of the family land in Kiambu.

In his suit filed at theย Milimaniย Commercial Court and which wasย up for mentionย on Monday, he accuses his siblings of allegedly diverting revenue from the family business to personal accounts.

He said Paradise Lost generates about Sh50 million annually but the money was not deposited in the company bank account at CFC Stanbic Bank.

Mwangi said no money has been deposited in the account for the past 10 years.

In one of the oldest succession cases in the country, the family of the slain politician Josiah Mwangi (JM)ย Kariukiย hasย been battling over his multi-million shilling estate for more than 32 years.

JM was survived by three widows Dorcasย Nyambura, Terry Wanjiku and Estherย Mwikaliย when he died in March 1975, leaving a vast estate comprising of huge tracts of land and shares in blue chip companies.ย ย JM remembered for the phrase โ€œKenya has become a nation of 10 millionaires and 10 million beggarsโ€ also had an unknown amount of money in various banks.

JM Kariuki [Photo: Courtesy]

The politician did not leave a Will and his children have sought the courtโ€™s intervention in the matter.

In March, High Court judge, Justice Aggreyย Mucheluleย ordered that an application filed by one of JMโ€™s widows seeking to set aside a decision that had included one of the properties she claims to be her matrimonial home in the state be heard.

The property on which Castle Inn stands was to be shared betweenย Nyamburaย andย Mwikali.ย Nyamburaย claims this has been her matrimonial home since 1975.

And the family of the late powerful Lands minister Jackson Angaineย was ordered to surrender one of the properties in his estate toย Ontuliliย Forest squatters.

The family lost the legal battle after the National Land Commission (NLC) recommended that 930 hectares of the land occupied byย Angaineโ€™sย family in Mt Kenya be reverted to squatters.

NLC made the recommendations five years after Court of Appeal dismissed three cases that sought to compel the government,ย Angaineโ€™sย family andย Home Grownย Kenya Limited to settle more than 500 squatters on the piece of land or give them alternative land.

The land issue dates back to 1970 when six forest officers atย Ontuliliย within Mt Kenya Forest in Meru County visited Kenyatta at hisย Gatunduย home in Kiambu County.

They requested the founding father to excise part of theย Ontuliliย Forest and allot them for settlement.

Source- sde.co.ke

 

Deaths of Kenyan billionaires that plunged kin in succession battles

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