Death has triggered war in some of Kenya’s wealthiest families. From former presidents to tycoons and political kingpins, multi-million-shilling estates cannot be shared among the intended beneficiaries because of allegations of forged wills, fake documents and altered corporate records.
In courtrooms across Nairobi, Eldoret and Mombasa, judges are being asked to find out whether the departed truly spoke through the documents — or did someone forge their final word?
What should have been moments to mourn, and share inheritance amicably have instead turned in vicious fights over the authenticity of signatures, bank accounts and boardroom control. Family members linked to political and business elites are locked in courtroom wars over wills that objectors say were forged, altered or manufactured to divert wealth. They want the wills to be declared invalid.
Judges, forensic analysts and detectives are now central players in the high-value succession cases once thought to be straightforward. Claims of forged signatures, fake board minutes and altered trust deeds sit at the heart of disputes over land, company shares, farms and homes worth billions of shillings.
In Uasin Gishu County, a High Court judge recently referred a disputed Will to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in the estate of businessman Francis Kipkoech Cheptoo alias Kimoso. The document purported to distribute parts of his Sh1.5 billion estate among family members.
Former Attorney-General James Boro Karugu.
Photo credit: File | Diana Ngila | Nation Media Group
Several siblings told the court the Will is “fake” and inconsistent with the deceased’s intentions. They questioned his capacity to make it. The judge ordered forensic testing and a criminal probe. The Deputy Registrar was directed to transmit the original Will to a forensic document examiner without delay.
Kimoso, a wealthy farmer who died in November 2012, left 20 children, two widows and expansive wheat farms. Further proceedings are scheduled for April 13, 2026, as the court awaits expert findings on veracity of the will.
In Nairobi, the estate of former Attorney-General James Boro Karugu has triggered parallel criminal, constitutional and succession legal battles. His daughter Ms Victoria Nyambura claims a Will dated April 2, 2014 and a trust deed establishing the JBK Foundation surfaced only after his burial in November 2022.
She reported the matter to the police, prompting investigations and forgery charges against six people, including Karugu’s son Mr Eric Mwaura and lawyer Mr Peter Mbuthia Gachuhi. The other suspects are Ms Jane Wangechi Kabiu, Mr William Kimani Richu, Mr Eliud Mwaura Gatambia, and Mr Joshua Mwaura Kimani.
The Director of Public Prosecutions and the DCI say forensic findings reveal falsification and coordinated manipulation of key documents.
Authorities say the planned criminal trial is lawful and evidence-based. They want a petition filed by the suspects at the Constitutional and Human Rights court challenging the intended trial dismissed, an argument that has also been backed by the Attorney-General.
The succession case is set for hearing on March 25, 2026, while a constitutional petition challenging the prosecution will be mentioned on March 17, 2026. Karugu served as the AG from 1980 to 1981.
The late Dutch tycoon Tob Cohen. His widow is fighting his family over authority to administer his estate.
Photo credit: Joel Odidi | Nation Media Group
Another flashpoint is the estate of Tob Cohen. The Dutch tycoon’s body was found in a septic tank at his Kitisuru home in Nairobi on September 2019 after he had been missing for two months. He was 71.
His estate, estimated at more than Sh700 million, is contested over a Will dated April 30, 2019. The document states that he left 50 per cent of the property to his sister and 50 per cent to her children, excluding his widow Ms Sarah Wairimu Cohen.
Ms Wairimu argues that the Will is a forgery and that the signatures do not match known samples. The assets he owned included a Sh400 million villa, bank accounts in Kenya and the Netherlands and shares in Tobs Limited. The widow is a suspect in the murder case. The succession matter will be mentioned before a deputy registrar on March 25, 2026.
For families connected to political elites, the stakes are high. Two individuals are claiming to be children of former President Mwai Kibaki and want a share of his wealth. Two objectors of Kibaki’s Will have made claims of fraud and forgery.
The objectors; Mr Jacob Ocholla and Ms JNL, claim that the Will filed in court by Kibaki’s children led by Ms Judith Wanjiku outlining his last wishes was invalid and should not be used in distributing his estate. The Will is dated December 23, 2016 and Kibaki died on April 21, 2022. The objectors are seeking its nullification on allegations that it was a forgery, and their recognition as his rightful heirs.
But the family has since dismissed the forgery allegations. The say that the application for cancellation of the Will lacks any basis since it is not supported by an affidavit of an expert of forensic examination.
“The application is based upon alleged forensic evidence when in fact the deponent of the affidavit purporting to produce that evidence is not an expert, nor has she claimed to be an expert, or to be possessed of any expertise of the matters upon which she purports to give evidence,” Ms Wanjiku said.
Describing the application as bad in law, she added that the queries on legitimacy of the Will are based on opinion.
The succession case is scheduled for hearing on June 26, 2026 at the High Court in Nairobi.
Similarly, the estate of former a Kanu-era Cabinet minister Joseph “JJ” Kamotho has simmered in court since his death in December 2014. Family members disagree over administration and the division of property.
Former Kanu secretary general and Mathioya MP the late Joseph Kamotho.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
In 2022, Kamotho’s son Mr Charles Githii Kamotho was charged with forging a medical report allegedly claiming his sister was of “unsound mind” to block her from administering the estate.
Prosecutors say the report was fake and filed to tilt control. He denied the charges. The succession matter will be called out in court on March 17, 2026 for hearing of pending applications.
The late John Keen at his home on December 21, 2011.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
In the estate of veteran politician John Keen, who died on December 25, 2016, the fight centres on a Will dated December 2, 2015 covering assets estimated at Sh17 billion.
His daughter Ms Victoria Naishorua Keen alleges the Will was forged and that her father lacked testamentary capacity due to Parkinson’s disease. She is relying on a private forensic report dated September 13, 2024 stating the signature is not genuine.
“There can be no testamentary intention where the will has been found to be a forgery,” she said in her affidavit.
She said that Keen’s signature on the Will was found to be a forgery by a document examiner in a report dated September 13, 2024. The examiner compared the signature on the Will with his other known signatures. The succession dispute is pending hearing on May 27, 2026.
Kiambu politician Nginyo Kariuki. He died at Aga Khan Hospital. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
“The purported signature of the deceased was a forgery,” she said. The courts has ordered forensic audits while bank and corporate accounts remain under court supervision, amid claims of intermeddling.
Ms Kiragu also said that the documents lacked proper attestation and did not list all of Nginyo’s assets. Objections and counter-applications have seen the case move through the High Court and Court of Appeal.
In the substantive succession proceedings before the High Court, judges have grappled with applications for forensic audits and interim stays amid competing claims from wide-ranging beneficiaries, including children born out of wedlock.
Family bank accounts and corporate accounts remain under judicial oversight due to allegations of intermeddling, contested withdrawals and disputed authority to manage funds
The late Jackson Kibor.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
In Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County the estate of wealthy farmer and politician Jackson Kibor, who died in March 2022 leaving assets estimated at Sh16 billion, is under forensic scrutiny.
His youngest wife presented a Will which other widows and children have objected. The ojectors questioned both the validity of the signature and whether the Will was altered or forged to favour Ms Eunita Kibor. In January 2024, the High Court ordered that the original Will be sent to the DCI for examination. The case was mentioned on February 24, 2026, with a ruling to be delivered on notice. Mediation efforts are underway.
Former Kiambaa MP Stanley Githunguri.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Back in Nairobi, the estate of former Kiambaa MP Stanley Munga Githunguri is also contested . Some beneficiaries have challenged his Will and aspects of administration. Githunguri , who was a powerful businessman and politician, died in November 2022, leaving behind a large estate. He properties include the iconic Lilian Towers along University Way and Ridgeways Mall along Kiambu Road. The succession dispute remains unresolved, with hearings scheduled for October 6 and 7, 2026.
In the business sphere, the estate of industrialist Balkrishna Ramji Haribhai Devani has become one of the most sensational probate disputes.
Prosecutors allege that his daughter Ms Dinta Devani Pathanja, together with Mr Abhay Singh Pathanja and two directors, Mr Samuel Ngugi Ndinguri and Ms Addah Nduta Ndambuki, falsified a codicil and board minutes to transfer shares in Pelican Signs Limited, Silverstar Properties and Stanmore Development Limited.
Ms Pathanja’s sister recently testified that the codicil dated July 2019 appeared impossible, saying it was as if “he rose from the dead and signed it.” The accused face multiple forgery charges including supplying false affidavits to the High Court and falsifying board minutes to effect share transfers without proper authority.
The criminal case is ongoing, while the succession case is set for hearing on May 19, 2026.
Some of these succession disputes involve claims beyond just forged signatures. In a case in Eldoret concerning the estate of businessman Nathaniel Kibitok, the High Court unearthed a duplicate court file in Nakuru County bearing the same cause number, one genuine, and one suspected fake. A senior court registrar admitted some documents bore signatures of judges on dates when courts were closed, further deepening suspicion of forgery.
Legal experts say the pattern reflects systemic weaknesses such as rushed probate filings, weak forensic safeguards and poor document custody, creating room for manipulation.
“When you have billions at stake, the temptation to manipulate records is very real,” said an advocate.
