Nakuru tycoon children ouster order extended

The High Court Thursday extended orders barring the first family of billionaire Stephen Kung’u from evicting his three children from an apartment in Nairobi’s Hurlingham area.

Justice Anthony Ndung’u also directed parties in the succession tussle to serve each other with crucial documents before hearing of the petition to safeguard the estate.

“The court hereby grants parties more time to file and serve affidavits and other relevant documents in the case,” said Justice Ndung’u.

The court also extended orders requiring Mr Kung’u’s first wife, Grace Nyambura, and her four children who manage the multibillion-shilling enterprises to ensure no property is ruined or alienated until the matter over the late tycoon’s estate’s distribution is heard and determined.

Kung’u died on April 6, leaving behind a vast estate of businesses in Nakuru and Nairobi as well as cash deposits in numerous bank accounts.

The legal battle over Kung’u’s billions began in June when his three daughters – Ms Naomi Wambui, Ms Rahab Wamucii and Ms Bilha Wanjiku – accused their stepmother Ms Nyambura of taking all the property their late father left behind.

Previously, lawyer Tom Ojienda had protested bitterly that the first family had influenced the eviction of the three children from a palatial Hurlingham estate house.

The court had issued the orders on September 10, after it heard that Ms Wamucii was forcefully ejected from Monte Carlo Club, which she managed before her father’s death, before it was closed down.

Prof Ojienda had told the court that the second family was concerned that the first family wanted to transfer all properties to themselves, denying them a share of their father’s estate.

Their mother, Ms Joyce Wanjiru, died in 2009. The three through their lawyer protested that there were plans to change signatories and registered directors of various companies owned by the late tycoon.

In papers lodged in court, the three siblings said they had placed a caution on a Sh1.5 billion fixed account with a local bank, among other accounts, that receive proceedings from his businesses in various parts of the country.

The three added that their father solely owned Nakuru’s Kunste Hotel and Pivot Club and Hotel as well as Nairobi’s famous “home” of reggae, the Monte Carlo Club, as well as Parklands Villa that he also successfully managed single-handedly.

Other properties mentioned in the suit include six separate blocks of three-storeyed rental apartments behind Nairobi’s Integrity Centre named Ambassador Courts with over 40 tenants as well as 16 different apartments (Grace House) that attract Sh14.4 million rental income annually.

In Hurlingham, Mr Kung’u owned three blocks of three-storeyed apartments earning Sh18 million annual income while his Ojijo Plaza with 59 tenants brought in Sh24 million annually.