The High Court has dismissed an application to jail Teresia Wairimu Kirima , widow of former Starehe MP Gerishon Kirima, over allegations of interfering with his multi-billion-shilling estate, as the fight for control of the properties continues to escalate fourteen years after his death.
Justice Patricia Nyaundi ruled that the administrators – Anne Wangari and Stephen Kirima – must pursue civil or criminal avenues independently, as the probate court’s role had ended in February.
The judge found that the court had completed its duties in the family case and no longer had jurisdiction over the matter.
This is because the court had appointed the two administrators and granted them authority to control the estate in February.
“The administrators are now vested with powers to execute their mandate and may either pursue criminal or civil channels without reverting to the probate court,” said Justice Nyaundi.
The administrators wanted the widow found guilty of intermeddling for interfering with the management of the properties of the estate and collecting rent in breach of the law, and the judgment dated February 21, 2025.
In the application, the administrators sought orders to have Ms Wairimu committed to a civil jail or fined an amount the court deemed appropriate. They also wanted the court to issue orders restraining her or her agents from interfering with the management and control of the premises forming part of the estate.
Ms Wairimu denied the accusations and said, on the contrary, that she desired the family to remain united and peaceful. She said that after she was relieved of her role as an administrator, she stepped back and gave free rein to the administrators to execute their mandate.
The application was filed on April 8, 2025, nearly two months after Ms Wairimu was removed as a co-administrator of the estate. Kirima died on December 21, 2010, leaving a vast estate and fifteen beneficiaries.
He had also served as a Member of Parliament and Assistant Minister in President Daniel arap Moi’s Cabinet. On June 6, 2013, following a protracted hearing, the court annulled two wills and determined that he had died without a will (intestate).
On October 30, 2013, Ms Wairimu and Anne Wangari Kirima were appointed as joint administrators of his estate, whose value is believed to be worth billions of shillings, though this remains unverified by independent auditors.
According to court documents, the properties of the estate include fourteen parcels of land in Kiruri, Murang’a County, one parcel in Kiambu, and seventeen parcels of land and commercial buildings in Nairobi’s Central Business District.
Other prime properties linked to him include a parcel of land in Kitsuru Estate, two pieces of land in Njiru – one measuring 472.5 acres – a plot in Pangani, Kirima House, and Duruma House.
His wealth portfolio also consists of shares in private companies Kenda Investments Limited and Wangu Investments Ltd, and shares in eleven public companies such as Kenya Airways Limited, Kakuzi Limited, Firestone/Sameer Africa Limited, East African Breweries Limited, Housing Finance Company, and Centum Investment Company.
He also owned nineteen motor vehicles, machinery such as building equipment, trucks and rollers, and cash held in nine bank accounts.
The estate further comprises four parcels of land registered in the name of Kirima & Sons Limited, which had been fraudulently transferred, and two pieces of land that were compulsorily acquired and remain pending compensation.
By the judgment delivered on February 21, 2025, the earlier grant of letters of administration was revoked, and a fresh grant was issued to Anne Wangari and Stephen Kirima.
The administrators were required to present a final report of all the liabilities of the estate and prepare a “cost-to-the-estate report” on the intermeddling.
They were also required to ensure that all rental income due to the estate was deposited into the estate accounts, effective February 2025.
In addition, the two administrators were required to ensure the transmission of the estate as per the partial confirmation of the grant and present a revised proposal on the distribution of the net estate (factoring in liabilities, gifts and intermeddling) within eighteen months.
While refusing the recent bid to punish Ms Wairimu, Justice Nyaundi expressed dismay over the prolonged family disputes, noting that they dishonoured Mr Kirima’s legacy
