JM Kariuki kin sue for murder redress

A case in which the children of slain politician JM Kariuki have sued the government for compensation over his death and lost property will be heard in court after a nine-year wait.

The family of the flamboyant politician claims that the government was involved in his murder and covered it up. The family also accuses the State of failure to protect his assets, which they claim have been grabbed by squatters and strangers.

Justice Isaac Lenaola on Wednesday directed the former assistant minister’s children and the Attorney General to appear before him on December 15 when the matter will go to the first hearing since being filed in 2005.

The mutilated and partially burnt body of the former Nyandarua North MP was found on March 2, 1975 in a thicket in Ngong Hills near Nairobi after he was reported to have gone missing.

But the government, in an official statement, said Mr Kariuki was on a trip to Zambia.

The seven children filed the compensation suit in September 2005, but the case has not been heard because some documents had not been released by police.

“The police eventually said that there is no file because it was burnt several years ago, so the case will proceed without the documents,” said Ms Julie Soweto, who is representing JM Kariuki’s children in the matter.

The suit was initially handled by a law firm associated with Siaya senator James Orengo.

Last year, the family filed an application seeking to compel the police to produce results of investigations into the murder. Mr Kariuki went missing after spending some time at the Hilton Hotel where he left with a senior security official.

Rosemary Machua, Ann Muiruri, Jane, John, Gordon, Anthony, and Mark Kariuki have in their suit claimed that the State colluded with the police to cover up events that led to Mr Kariuki’s death.

“The police, other security organs and public officials were engaged in a massive cover up and interference with investigations into the disappearance and murder of JM Kariuki. He was murdered by persons believed to have acted on the orders of the Government of the day,” they say.

Ms Machua further claims that the State was at fault for failing to provide the former legislator with adequate security, which led to his murder.

The politician had built a vast business empire including huge tracts of land, real estate and shares in various companies.

The children also want investigations into the murder to be carried out afresh with a view of apprehending the culprits. The court early this year started the process of distributing his multi-million-shilling estate to beneficiaries.