Exactly seven days before succumbing to illness at the Royal Marsden Hospital in Chelsea, London, former Nyeri Governor Nderitu Gachagua signed a Will detailing how his estate would be distributed.
The Will he signed on February 17, 2017, prior to his death on February 24, 2017, aged 64 years, aimed to forestall any fights over his wealth, but his vast estate is caught up in a national feud he would not have anticipated.
Seven years later, executors that the former governor listed in his will have filed the document at the National Assembly to claim prime properties that an impeachment motion alleged are owned by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua .
Aside from laying bare secrets of the estate, the move by the executors has offered insight into part of the defence that the Deputy President will rely on to dodge a bullet fired by 291 MPs who signed the impeachment motion, and which could end his political career.
On Saturday, the National Assembly acknowledged receipt of the document, in which Nderitu’s estate revealed that five of the properties linked to embattled DP Gachagua in the motion were actually owned by his deceased brother, and that two of them have already been sold.
As part of their submission, executors Njorge Regeru and Mwai Mathenge attached former governor Gachagua’s Will and property transfer documents to disassociate some of the prime assets from the Deputy President.
The executors, in line with the former governor’s wishes, sold Queensgate Serviced Apartments to the Cooperative Bank Staff Retirement Benefits Scheme 2007 barely three weeks after the DP was sworn into office. Queensgate Serviced Apartments were initially owned by Vipingo Beach Resort Ltd, which the former governor owned. The apartments are in Lavington.
The sale agreement was signed on July 4, 2022 and indicated Sh531 million. But the transfer document pushed its purchase price up to Sh590 million.
Olive Gardens, a landmark establishment in the Hurlingham suburb of Nairobi, was sold to TM Civil Engineering in 2023. It was owned by Olive Garden Hotel Ltd. The sale agreement signed on May 17, 2023 and the transfer documents dated September 8, 2023 show that Olive Gardens was sold for Sh412 million.
TM Civil Engineering is owned by tycoon Peterson Njomo Muchira, who unsuccessfully contested the MP seat for Gichugu, Kirinyaga County, in the 2022 General Election.
Mr Muchira contested as an independent candidate, but his bid was ended by the then unstoppable UDA wave as incumbent Gichimu Githinji got more than double the 15,069 votes the TM Civil Engineering owner garnered.
Based on the 5 per cent the Deputy President was to get from any sale under his brother’s Will, Mr Gachagua earned Sh50.1 million from the sale of Olive Gardens and Queensgate Serviced Apartments, exclusive of taxes.
Mr Regeru and Mr Mathenge indicated in their submission that beneficiaries to Nderitu’s estate, the Deputy President included, elected to share among themselves the 70 units that make up Langata View Apartments along the Southern Bypass.
Mr Regeru’s law firm represented the estate in a court case that thwarted attempts by the Kenya National Highways Authority to demolish the apartments over allegations of being on a road reserve.
“The joint Will executors are in the process of distributing the apartments in accordance with the wishes of the beneficiaries,” Mr Regeru and Mr Mathenge say in their submissions to the National Assembly.
Both denied being used as proxies for anyone, insisting that other than Langata View Apartments, none of the other companies or businesses owned by the former governor have been in operation since his death in 2017.
“With the exception of Langata View Apartments, which receives rental income, none of the other estate companies have been operating as trading companies since the demise of the deceased. The only income received from the estate are proceeds from the realisation of assets whenever disposal has taken place,” Mr Regeru and Mr Mathenge added.
The two insist that they have no common business interests among themselves or with Mr Gachagua, who was listed as the third executor of his brother’s Will.
The executors add that they incorporated a special purpose vehicle, Kuruwitu Properties, to help sell two pieces of land in Kilifi County.
Nderitu let his family hold shares for him in most companies. Sibling Rigathi Gachagua, wife Margaret Waithiegeni and children Kenneth and Susan held shares in trust in Vipingo Beach Resort Ltd, Olive Garden Ltd, Hard Rock Quarries Ltd, Tripple Eight Construction and Queensgate Serviced Apartments Ltd.
The Will indicates that Nderitu had two wives, both named Margaret. He left his Karen and Meru homes to Margaret Waithiegeni, and his Langata one to Margaret Nyokabi.
His sons, Jason and Kenneth, got a home sitting on four acres of ancestral land in Hiriga village, Nyeri County. Mr Gachagua was allocated Mweiga Homes Ltd, which operates in Nyeri. All other assets were to be sold and the proceeds shared out to beneficiaries.
Nderitu’s children—Susan, Mercy, Kenneth and Jason—were to each get 10 per cent of all sale proceeds. A child born to Susan Wanjiru, whose relation to the former governor is not specified, will get 2 per cent of the sale proceeds. Another child born to Eva Mukami will get 5 per cent. Ms Wanjiru and Ms Mukami will hold the proceeds in trust for the two minors.
His mother Martha, brother Rigathi and two wives were allocated 5 per cent of the sale proceeds. The DP’s wife, Dorcas, was allocated 2 per cent of the sale proceeds.
Jackson, a brother, was allocated 4 per cent of the sale proceeds. The children of another of his brothers, Fred, were also allocated 4 per cent of the sale proceeds.
Sisters Lillian, Linda and Eunice are to each get 1 per cent of the sale proceeds. Other siblings—James, Johnson, Peterson, Leah and Josephine—are to get 3 per cent of the sale proceeds.
Yoga instructor Jennifer Gacheke Simons will also get 1 per cent of the sale proceeds. The Will indicates that he owed her Sh10 million.
The former governor set aside 11 per cent of the sale proceeds for administrative costs, and another 5 per cent for the executors of his will —Mr Gachagua, Mr Regeru and Mr Mathenge.
The former governor had Sh200 million in his bank accounts. He also owned seven vehicles. He owed Mr Regeru in legal bills totalling to Sh13.9 million for an election petition, Sh32.5 million for work done for Vipingo Beach Ltd and amounts yet to be determined for works done for Triple Eight Construction.
