Jackson Kibor, Gerishon Kirima, John Keen: Family feuds over estates left by prominent persons

It was widely reported this week that the family of the late John Keen was at it again, actively in dispute after contesting his will. This is after some children within the families of Keen’s second and third wives moved to subdivide a parcel of land in Karen by erecting a wall in a contested estate in Karen. This is a move that the family of the first wife, Gladwell Wairimu, faulted as a conspiracy to kick them out.

It has been over seven years since the veteran politician’s demise, and the end to the protracted family conflict does not seem to be in sight.

The feud is centered on Keen’s estate estimated to be worth over Ksh.13 billion. This despite a detailed will and his appointed executioners all scripted down before he died in 2015. The inheritance feud rages unabated!

Feuding over inheritance is not new nor is it the preserve of a few prominent families

That succession disputes end up in prolonged ownership battles in court is not new; what is baffling is that we, the living, do not learn from them. 

Today as a parent, the investment you make in real estate or at the stock exchange, may be the point of conflict among your adult children at your demise. Things get even more complicated should a family be polygamous and with numerous children, all eyeing the estate.

The death of bread winners, particularly family patriarchs are traumatizing and life changing for all family members. The loss reverberates across the family and with it starts a new phase of life, some for the first time come to know of step-brethren, concubines or co-wives - this added to the recent loss simply wounds those left behind.

However, in many families, this also marks the beginning of feuds over the sharing of the estate left behind by the deceased. In many families, disputes end up in court, at times for many years, disrupting their lives.

Long legal battles at times leave a trail of destitution among family members who cannot access the disputed property or bank accounts for their upkeep. It is a double tragedy of immense proportions with little respite in sight as human weakness and choices remain the same if not worse.

Succession fights remain a notable feature among wealthy and prominent families and woe unto them as it often plays out publicly with sufficient media coverage. Not to be mistaken, however, is that this phenomenon is similarly common among the less affluent members of society.

The difference is that the disputes are low key and with very little at stake, each party walks away to chart its own new path. The joke among many Kenyans however, is that the death of the head of the family makes them know and meet new relatives they would never have known otherwise. A cynical and grim joke, as the encounters rarely draw blood.

Prominent families drawn into dispute over the past years

The estates of deceased prominent Kenyans Nginyo Kariuki, Noah Too, James Kanyotu, Abdulkarim Popat, Gerishom Kirima, Justice Mathew Guy Muli, and Jackson Kibor are among those that ended in a court of law triggered by, among others, widows and children, known and unknown hitherto to their demise.

One of the most recent succession feuds is that of the family of prominent Uasin Gishu County farmer and politician Jackson Kibor, hardly a month after his death. Outspoken and polygamous, he died at 88 years in March 2022. A bitter row then ensued with Kibor’s youngest widow alleging a plot to disinherit her. The matter went to court. 

Nginyo died on February 24, 2020 leaving behind his widow and their six children. In the succession case filed by Brenda Kiragu (his daughter by another mother) is in court fighting Nginyo’s family over the management and distribution of his properties.

He left behind an estate valued at Ksh.4 billion. Nginyo also had three children from two other women. They are all disputing the validity of his will and claim to have been left out.

Noah Too died on December 31, 2016. A wealthy man by any standards, Mark Too’s estate has been sued by a lady claiming his paternity.

The lady who lodged the suit obtained court orders for a DNA test to establish her claim. She wants a share of Too’s wealth and has applied in court to be listed as a beneficiary of the multimillion-shilling estate.

The late spy chief led an inscrutable life when alive but death in 2006 burst open all the hidden corners of his family life. He was survived by two widows and 12 children.

Kanyotu’s estate was estimated to be over Ksh.20 billion.  A succession case was filed in the High Court of Kenya, Succession Cause No. 1239 of 2008 in the matter of estate of James Kanyotu (Deceased) in the year 2008 and by 2019, only a partial ruling could be given.

The case was to identify the beneficiaries, identify the assets of the estate, and then give mode of distribution of the estate to the beneficiaries.

Abdulkarim Popat, the patriarch of the Popat family who passed on in 2013, died a multi-millionaire. He left behind his widow Guzar and three sons Azim, Alnashir and Adil.

Alnashir went to court to fight for a share of his dad’s wealth because his will had excluded him.  In 2019, Alnashir Popat, found favor with the Court of Appeal that ruled in his favor.

Former Nairobi city councilor and Starehe MP Gerishon Kirima died at the age of 88 in 2010. He was dogged by poor health coupled with old age.

He had a polygamous family and “war” broke out over his succession way before he passed on.

In October 2013, a three-year court battle over ownership of the late Kirima's estate was resolved in court and all interested parties came to an agreement.

Former PS Nduva Muli and his sisters, Judge Agnes Murgor and Ms Nthanze Muli, had been fighting for the control of the multi-million-shilling properties left by their father, the late former Attorney General Justice Mathew Guy Muli.

However, in April 2014, with much relief to the family, arbitration offered by Mutava Musyimi, and assisted by Nyiva Mwendwa, bore fruit and the case was resolved.

Is there a solution to the matter of succession?

A survey done by pensions administrator Enwealth Financial Service in 2019 found that six out of 10 people die without having written their will, exposing their spouses and children to deadly fights over property. 

The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) in 2019 found that 26.2 per cent of all households in Kenya had experienced conflicts due to succession. Legal experts advise families to avoid inheritance disputes by planning their estate.

This is the preparation for distribution and management of one’s property and assets upon death. Though no guarantee, it reduces the possibility of a conflict.

For instance, should a father die without writing a will, then every child is entitled to a share of the family investment. For those who may have died intestate, precedence shows that their estate is distributed to their wives and children first.

If one, the deceased, was a polygamist, his property gets to be divided among the households according to the number of children in each.

It should also be noted that children born outside marriage have also been getting the court’s backing in their quest for inheritance as various judges hold that there should be no form of discrimination and that all children have equal rights to inheritance from the parents.

Kenyans should learn from the goings-on today over matters succession and come up with comprehensive well guided wills that can stand the test of their demise.

Everyone desires to leave a united and loving family behind at death and this is possible through comprehensive communication and justice in word and deed.