Supreme Court ruled that former president Mzee Jomo Kenyatta’s confidant had four wives who should inherit his Sh10 billion empire.
The court dismissed an application that sought a declaration that the late Koinange had two wives and that their families should be the sole beneficiaries of the multi-billion shilling estate.
The former minister, who died on September 3, 1981, was polygamous.
The battle for control of former Cabinet minister Peter Mbiyu Koinange's estate has finally been put to rest after the Supreme Court ruled that former president Mzee Jomo Kenyatta’s confidant had four wives who should inherit his Sh10 billion empire.
The top court dismissed an application that sought a declaration that the late Koinange had two wives and that their families should be the sole beneficiaries of the multi-billion shilling estate.
The parties will now have to return to the High Court for distribution of the estate after the Supreme Court agreed with the finding of the Court of Appeal that Mr Koinange's two other wives, who were previously sidelined by the High Court, should also get a share of the estate.
Mr George Kihara Mbiyu had requested the Supreme Court to hear an application where he is challenging the inclusion of Margaret Njeri Mbiyu (Margaret) and Eddah Wanjiru Mbiyu (Eddah), in the sharing of the vast estate.
Supreme Court Judges David Maraga, Philomena Mwilu, Mohamed Ibrahim, Smokin Wanjala, and Isaac Lenaola, said the Court of Appeal had correctly applied the law in declaring the two widows beneficiaries of the estate.
“In the circumstances, we are unable to find any issue of general public importance in Mr Kihara’s intended appeal to warrant a review of the appellate court’s decision. Consequently, we dismiss this application. And this being a family dispute, we order that each party bears its own cost,” ruled the judges.
The disputed assets include one of the biggest undeveloped plots in the Nairobi CBD, a Sh2 billion holding next to the Reinsurance Plaza building. There are also shares in numerous companies including Magadi Soda, BAT #ticker:BAT, Centum and Limuru Dairy.
There are also shares in BAT, Danson Macharia Saw Mills in Elbugon, 11,000 shares in Ocean View Beach Hotel and another 1,000 shares in Oceanic Hotel in Mombasa.
The estate owns 291 acres of prime land at Closeburn Estate in Runda, 100 acres of which was sold by the family members to Jumbo Properties for Sh1 billion and two prime plots in Kiambu.
Other family assets include the 640-acre Ihothia farm, Waihothia farm (198 acres), Thimbigwa/Waguthu (98 acres), Ikunu (13 acres), Githunguri (16 acres) , a petrol station, three buildings in Nakuru, Koira Bulding in Mombasa, two plots in Karuri and Kiambaa in Kiambu. There is also the 4,296-acre Muthera farm in Nakuru ,a plot in Dagoretti and Lunga Lunga property in Nairobi’s Industrial Area.
The properties and others in co-operatives were estimated at Sh10 billion during court sessions
The former minister, who died on September 3, 1981, was polygamous. There was no dispute regarding the beneficiaries of the first two houses of Loise Njeri Mbiyu (Loise) and Damaris Wambui Mbiyu (Damaris) both of whom are deceased but left children. The dispute was whether or not the deceased had two other wives.
The major issues before the Court of Appeal was whether or not Margaret and Eddah were widows of the deceased and therefore beneficiaries of his estate. The other issues were whether or not Eddah’s daughter, Sylvia Wambui Mbiyu (Sylvia), born about 83 days after the deceased’s death, was a biological child of the deceased entitled to inherit a share of his estate; whether or not two companies which had bought portions of the deceased’s pieces of land acquired interests in those pieces of land; and the rightful share of each beneficiary.
The matter has dragged in court for over 30 years.
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