Plans to share out Mbiyu Koinange's estate hit snag

Efforts to distribute the estate of former Cabinet Minister Peter Mbiyu Koinange equally between his widows might be thrown into disarray following revelations that there are plans to sell part of the Sh10 billion empire before the exercise begins.

Mrs Eddah Wanjiru Mbiyu, one of the four widows, has claimed that strangers have been holding meetings on Closeburn Estate, one of the properties in the succession case, with a view to having it subdivided.

She has written to the Ministry of Land, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), and the National Land Commission (NLC) expressing her concern, through lawyer Paul Muite.

TITLE DEED

“The title to this property is up to now in the name of the deceased, the late Hon Mbiyu Koinange, since his estate has not been distributed by the High Court,” she said in the letter.

Mrs Mbiyu claims the meetings have been attended by officials from the Ministry of Land, including from the Department of Survey, “in collusion with one of the beneficiaries who is not even an administrator of the estate, with the sole objective of carrying out illegal subdivisions, generation of fake deed plans and issuance of fake titles.

According to the widow, the challenges in distributing the Koinange estate arose after some parcels of land were unlawfully sold.

“In the face of the ongoing crackdown on corruption, the audacity and impunity on full display here is astounding,” Mrs Mbiyu said.

SIDE-LINED

She said the letter is meant to alert the Ministry of Land, the DCI, and the NLC of the illegal activities and to request urgent investigations to bring those involved to book.

In January, 2019, the parties will return to the High Court for the distribution of the estate after the Supreme Court, in September, backed the Court of Appeal’s decision 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 filed an application in the Supreme Court challenging the inclusion of Margaret Njeri Mbiyu (Margaret) and 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 bear its own cost,” the judges ruled.

DISPUTED ASSETS

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, Centum and Limuru Dairy.

Other shares are 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 to Jumbo Properties for Sh1 billion, and two prime plots in Kiambu.

Other 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 Building in Mombasa, two plots in Karuri and Kiambaa in Kiambu. Others are the 4,296-acre Muthera farm in Nakuru, a plot in Dagoretti and Lunga Lunga property in Nairobi’s Industrial Area.

There was no dispute on the beneficiaries of the families of Loise Njeri Mbiyu and Damaris Wambui Mbiyu, both dead but had children. The case that has dragged for over 30 years was on whether or not Mr Koinange had two other wives.