From left: Christopher Kanyotu, Mary Wanjiku Kanyotu, Jane Gathoni Kanyotu, and businessman Andrew Peter Ngirici after appearing before the Senate Committee on Lands, Environment and Natural Resources at County Hall, Nairobi, on July 28, 2026, during deliberations on a statement sought by Kiambu Senator Paul Karungo Thangwa regarding the directorship of Kangaita Coffee Estate.
Daniel Muikia hoped to settle his family in Ruiru, where he bought 1.5 acres of land from Kangaita Coffee Estate Ltd, a firm owned by the family of former spy chief James Kanyotu, in 2008.
In 2012, Mr Muikia secured title deeds for the three half-acre plots he had paid Sh1.8 million for, and built a home on one of them.
The Muikia’s plots were among several others sold to members of the public, and which today form part of Two Rivers Crescent Estate and which is estimated to be worth Sh10 billion in the present day.
In 2023, Mr Mukia and other buyers got sucked into the succession war in the Kanyotu family, with competing claims for the Two Rivers Crescent Estate land turning violent.
A house on a piece of land where the occupant is facing eviction at the contested plots at Two Rivers Crescent Estate in Ruiru, Kiambu County on August 3,2026.
“An individual identified as Willy Kihara was now laying claim to several plots in the estate, and one of my three plots was one of them. Goons were sent to damage our properties and try to force us out of our plots,” says Mr Muikia.
In the succession battle, Willy Kihara claims to be a son of Mr Kanyotu born out of wedlock, and maintains that in 2007 the former spy chief gifted him land equivalent to 32 plots in Two Rivers Crescent Estate.
Through a Gazette Notice dated February 15, 2019, Mr Kihara successfully applied for a change of name from Willy Kihara Njoki to Willy Kihara Njoki Kanyotu.
“I have been assaulted more than three times by unknown people. The first one was in October 2023, but the worst was on November 17, 2025, where the assailants beat me and cut me using a machete,” avers Mr Muikia.
“The irony of the matter is that despite reporting the assault cases to Ruiru Police Station, no action has ever been taken. The people who assaulted me are walking Scot-free and are treated as kings by the police.”
Read: Win for homeowners as court blocks Kanyotu family from evicting them in Sh10 billion Kiambu land row
Susan Muthoni Kaburu, who bought her two parcels in 2007, has had her fence demolished three times by individuals led by two brothers identified by residents as Kiama and Charles.
“One of us called Monica Wacuka Muigai died in October 2025 allegedly after receiving news that her plot had been invaded,” says David Muhia, another resident.
“The goons have been invading undeveloped plots and fencing them. They also bring down temporary structures and assault any person who stands in their way.”
The ongoing battle for the Sh10 billion property has roped in Lands Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome and her daughter Wangeci Wahome Akedi.
In court, Mr Kanyotu’s widows Jane Gathoni Kanyotu and Mary Wanjiku Kanyotu are on one side with the latter’s sons, Andrew Peter Ngirici and Christopher Kanyotu.
Mary Wanjiku Kanyotu appears before the Senate Committee on Lands, Environment and Natural Resources at Bunge Tower, Nairobi, on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, during deliberations on a statement sought by Kiambu Senator Paul Karungo Thangwa regarding the directorship of Kangaita Coffee Estate.
On the other side of the fence are Willy Kihara and Margaret Nyakinyua Murigu, who also claims to be a widow.
The Senate Land and Environment committee has summoned Lands CS Alice Wahome, branding her a person of interest on account of representing Wanjiku Kanyotu and Kangaita before she was replaced by lawyer Bryan Khaemba.
In a request for statement by Kiambu Senator Karungo Thang’wa, the committee has been tasked to inquire into the circumstances under which Mr Kihara is asserting ownership over the land, including whether he is a legally recognised beneficiary or administrator of the estate and the basis upon which he is disputing the previous sale of the land.
This is in addition to the legal status of the parcels of land in question, including verification of ownership records, the validity of title documents held by the residents and the status of succession and administration of the estates of the late Kanyotu.
A gate leading to a piece of land whose occupant is facing eviction at one of the contested plots at Two Rivers Crescent Estate in Ruiru, Kiambu County on August 3,2026.
“CS Wahome is a person of interest. She is actually the reason why these people are suffering. Whenever we speak, she takes us to court. She was the lawyer of Mr Kihara; then after becoming a minister, she left the brief to her daughter,” said Senator Thang’wa.
On the disputed land, Nation found dug up trenches, guard posts removed and demarcation of new beacons.
The plot Ms Kaburu bought was now surrounded by a fresh concrete and barbed wire fence, allegedly put up by Mr Kihara. Next to it is Jane Gathoni Muraya Kanyotu’s plot.
On another plot Jane Gathoni owns next to Mr Muikia’s, sits a house with a blue gate, which the Kanyotu widow did not build.
“We are living in constant fear for our lives and safety not only for ourselves but also our children and family resident therein,” adds Felistas Njeri Mwihia, the chairperson of Two Rivers Crescent Estate Association.
In 2001 and 2002, the late Mr Kanyotu advertised the sale of the Ruiru land, subdivided into half-acre plots, in newspaper advertisements through Kangaita Coffee Estate Ltd.
In 2001 and 2002, the late Mr Kanyotu, through Kangaita Coffee Estate Limited, placed a newspaper advertisement in the local dailies wherein it offered for sale the subject half-acre plot.
Kangaita Coffee Estate Ltd hired Kahari & Kiai Advocates to handle the transactions.
At the time, Mr Kanyotu was the majority shareholder of Kangaita, and a director. He died on February 14, 2008.
Mr Kanyotu’s death triggered shareholding changes, with his first wife, Mary, and children John Kariuki Kanyotu, Christopher Ngata Kanyotu, Sandra Gathoni Kanyotu and Kenneth Peter Njau coming in as the new owners and directors.
Kawanja Limited, Estate of James Kanyotu and Estate of Stephen Njao Kanyotu are listed as non-director shareholders as at 2009.
Three Kanyotu kin – Mary, John and Jane – wrote to Kahari & Kiai Advocates between 2008 and 2009 asking the law firm to proceed with the land sales. The land sales were intended to rescue Kanyotu businesses in distress, such as Collindale Security Company Ltd, Kawanja Holdings Ltd and Acacia Court Ltd.
Then the succession battle started.
The late James Kanyotu.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen told the Senate committee that the 74 plots were initially registered under Kangaita Coffee Estate Limited, where the late Kanyotu was the majority shareholder owning 4,995 shares out of the total 5,000 shares.
After his death, the family filed a succession case No.1239 of 2008 at the High Court which issued five court orders stipulating how the estate is to be administered.
At different times, judges George Dulu (September 28, 2009), Roselyne Nambuye (June 23, 2010), David Maraga (October 25, 2011) and Luka Kimaru (November 8, 2013) all issued orders barring sale, transfer or interference with the Sh10 billion land pending determination of the succession case.
Justice Abida Ali Aroni on July 20, 2020 ordered that all considered beneficiaries of Mr Kanyotu’s estate be allocated properties.
It is consequent to this order, CS Murkomen claims, Mr Kihara was allocated 13 assorted properties by the court during the distribution of the properties in the said estate.
Mr Murkomen maintained that Justice Aroni’s orders recognising Mr Kihara as a beneficiary have never been disputed or set aside.
The Interior CS also told the Senate committee that late Kanyotu gifted Mr Kihara 31 plots within the said estate on December 5, 2007.
A letter seen by the Nation, allegedly authored by Mr Kanyotu on December 5, 2007, indicates that the spymaster gifted the land to Mr Kihara in response to his “request for some capital to boost your business”.
However, the validity of the document has been challenged, with Mr George Kariithi, a resident, wondering how the document bore a fingerprint yet Mr Kanyotu was still alive by then and was signing other documents.
“Why did Kanyotu not sign the document yet he signed another document on December 28, 2007?” questions Mr Kariithi.
A sale transfer document between Ms Kaburu and Kangaita Coffee Estate Limited executed on December 28, 2007 bears Mr Kanyotu’s signature.
Ms Gathoni would on September 6, 2023 put up a caveat emptor in the Daily Nation warning the public that one Willy Kihara Njoki alias Willy Kihara Kanyotu has not been authorised by anyone to deal with the properties of the late James Kanyotu or have the administrators or beneficiaries of the Estate consented to any of the offers and sales being undertaken or negotiated by him.
The document went on to reveal that the courts had asked Mr Kihara in 2017 to submit himself for DNA testing, but he had failed and/or refused to submit himself for the same.
Ms Mary Kanyotu also told the committee that Mr Kihara is an impostor and is not a biological son of the late Kanyotu, maintaining that DNA tests have proven the same.
“His grandmother used to work on our farm, and they depended on us, but all of a sudden he became a Kanyotu. He has also managed to convince people that he is Kanyotu’s son.”
In his submission to the committee, CS Murkomen told the senators that the documents held by the plot owners were obtained with disregard of the existing court orders, therefore deemed to be invalid.
“Any document possessed by the residents that was acquired after the death of James Kanyotu stands a high chance of being invalid because they were obtained in gross disregard of five existing High Court orders,” reads the response by CS Murkomen.
A letter by Wahome and Akedi Advocates, acting on behalf of Margaret Nyakinyua Murigu and Kangaita Coffee Estate Limited – which has been disputed – also challenged the acquisition of the land by the residents, saying they have illegally and fraudulently obtained transfers of the parcels of land registered in their names and they have illegally occupied the said parcels of land belonging to the Estate.
Lawyer Akedi challenged the inquiry by the committee, saying the matters under consideration are before court via an application dated January 29, 2025, filed in the High Court.
CS Murkomen also dispelled claims by residents that there are missing records relating to the disputed parcel as well as being inaccessible or unavailable at the Ministry of Land, saying “all records are intact and in proper order”.
The CS also said there is no evidence of reported cases on attempts at illegal eviction, saying the National Police Service and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations will deal with such attempts and any other criminalities.
But Nation is in possession of more than 30 copies of OB reports from Ruiru Police Station made by the affected residents between 2023 and 2026, with the latest one being March 10, 2026, reported by Patrick Maina.
The complaints include malicious damage, trespass, land dispute and threats to life, with Mr Maina and Muikia making the most reports like 10 each. Others who have made reports at the police station are Ms Njeri, Daniel Maina, Johnson Maina, Joseph Gachugu, Roseline Wanjiru and Samuel Semburu.
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