Kibaki Children Value Late President’s Estate at Sh50 Million

The estate of Kenya's third President, Mwai Kibaki, is at the centre of a high-stakes legal battle as two individuals challenge his four children over the control and distribution of his vast wealth. 

The dispute has brought into question the true value of Kibaki's assets, with conflicting estimates revealing a significant disparity between official declarations and new evidence presented in court. The legal proceedings initiated by Kibaki’s children, led by Judith Wanjiku, initially valued the former President’s estate at approximately 50 million Kenyan shillings. However, JNL, one of the objectors, has presented evidence suggesting that Kibaki was, in fact, a billionaire with substantial holdings in various companies. 

Her findings indicate that Kibaki was a co-owner of several investment and trading firms alongside prominent Kenyan businessmen, including the late Chris Kirubi, Kenneth Matiba, Joseph Gethenji, and Charles Mwangi Gathuri. JNL launched independent investigations following her exclusion from Kibaki's will, revealing that Kibaki held shares in numerous enterprises, including Farmlands Ltd, International House Ltd, and Kentrout, among others. Documents filed in court show that he had a stake in Roirie Investment Company Ltd, Lucia and Company Ltd, Gingalili (1968) Ltd, and Pinpoint Investments Ltd. 

Notably, JNL argues that the former President’s holdings in International House Ltd—where he reportedly owned 20,033 ordinary shares—were omitted from court records despite their significance. Jacob Ocholla, the other objector, joins JNL in challenging the legitimacy of the petition filed by Kibaki’s children. They contend that Wanjiku, along with James Mark Kibaki, David Kagai, and Anthony Andrew Githinji, provided misleading details regarding the value of their father’s estate. This alleged misrepresentation, they argue, amounts to an attempt to obscure the true extent of Kibaki’s wealth from both the courts and potential beneficiaries.

JNL claims that Kibaki’s children failed to disclose their father’s interests in several investment vehicles, despite their awareness of his holdings. She has urged the court to compel Wanjiku and her siblings to provide an accurate inventory of Kibaki’s assets before any decisions on the distribution of the estate are made. Furthermore, she alleges that the four children have begun managing and distributing assets without proper legal authority, an action she describes as intermeddling in the estate.

The court is now tasked with determining whether Kibaki’s children understated the value of their father’s wealth and, if so, whether JNL and Ocholla have legitimate claims to portions of the estate. The focal point of the matter is Kibaki’s will, drafted in December 2016, which appointed his children as executors and called for the establishment of a holding company to oversee his assets. The will, however, does not specify all of his properties, leaving room for speculation about undisclosed assets.