Former MP wins case against son

Former Starehe MP Gerishon Kirima Tuesday triumphed in a battle with one of his sons, when the latter’s case was dismissed by a judge.

In dismissing the case, Justice Kalpana Rawal said the petitioner, Stephen Kamau, failed to provide enough evidence to support his case.

The Judge also ruled that 78-year-old Kirima had shown to the court that he was capable of carrying out his duties, contrary to the allegation by the son.

Mr Kirima, a businessman, once served as the MP for Starehe Constituency. The retired politician has served as a councillor, Nairobi deputy mayor, and an assistant minister in the Ministry of Water.

The 46-year-old Kamau happens to be the only son who took after his father as a politician as he is councillor in Nairobi. His father had in 1997 groomed him for the Starehe parliamentary seat, but he lost at the nominations stage.

His problems started early this year when two of his sons filed different suits in court.

The two, Mr Kamau and John Wanjau had the backing of some of their siblings.

According to them, they are fighting to protect the vast estate acquired by their father over the years. The sons add that they also helped in developing some of the properties.

From the record, Mr Kirima owns a huge chunk of city estates and has plans to erect hundreds others. He has housing units in Dagoretti, Parklands, Embakasi, Njiru, Ofafa Jericho and some buildings at the city centre. The 78-year-old man also plans to erect between 800 and 900 housing units in Embakasi. He is also building others in the city’s Parklands area.

The estate is estimated to be worth Sh750 million. And according to Kamau, the elderly man earns at least Sh15 million every month.

Until a family brawl early this year, the elderly man also used to frequent his office at Morktar Dadaah Street where he runs Kirima & Sons. He runs auctioneering services, is a general merchant, land and real estate agent.

According to Mr Kamau, before the resorted to court action, they allegedly sought advice from church elders, their father’s closest friends including politicians and uncles without success.

In his suit Mr Kamau wanted his father to be taken before a doctor to confirm his mental status. He argued through lawyer Githu Muigai that taking his elderly father to a doctor was for the good of his estate and that justice would be met if his request was granted.

The lawyer told Justice Rawal that the court had been furnished with two conflicting medical evidence concerning Mr Kirima’s mental status. And with the conflicting reports, it was prudent to order an up-to-date status.

And, if the medical report confirms that Mr Kirima is suffering from mental dementia, he said, the estate, should be managed by the law firm of Mohammed Muigai.

Mr Kamau further proposed that his sister Jane Gathoni, his father’s wife Teresia Wairimu and himself be appointed guardians of the estate.

In opposing the plea, 78-year-old told the court that such as case was very serious and more evidence should be tabled. He urged the court to dismiss the case through his lawyer George Oraro.

Mr Kirima maintained that he was mentally sound and in control of his actions in relation to the suit.