Court invalidates Koinange’s wills, orders heirs to reach deal

Charles Karuga Koinange. Mr Koinange, a one-time senior chief who died in 2004, was a younger brother of the late Mbiyu Koinange who was a powerful minister in the Jomo Kenyatta government. FILE PHOTO |

What you need to know:

  • The judge directed the beneficiaries to file affidavits outlining the mode of distribution of the vast estate by the court, signalling an end to one of the most protracted family disputes in Kenyan courts.
  • The judge cancelled the 1975 will, largely supported by the widow Mary Njoki Karuga, saying it was not witnessed as required by law and did not meet the threshold of such a document.
  • Justice Githinji, who was then hearing a succession case filed by the estranged wife of the former provincial administrator, said in his ruling of February 16, 1999 that Mr Koinange “has been escorted to court by a lady who is supporting him.

A protracted row over the Sh5 billion estate of one-time provincial administrator Charles Karuga Koinange has finally been determined by the High Court in Nairobi.

At the centre of the dispute has been the validity of two wills made by Mr Koinange on May 8, 1975 and June 16, 1999. Last Thursday, Justice Luka Kimaru quashed and declared the two wills invalid.

The judge directed that the estate, “shall be administered as if Koinange died intestate (without a will)”.

The judge directed the beneficiaries to file affidavits outlining the mode of distribution of the vast estate by the court, signalling an end to one of the most protracted family disputes in Kenyan courts.

Mr Koinange, who died in 2004, was a brother of Mbiyu Koinange, a one-time powerful minister in the Jomo Kenyatta government who died in 1981.

“The parties shall be at liberty to file affidavits indicating their preferred mode of distribution for determination by the court. This does not preclude the parties from amicably agreeing as to the mode of distribution,” Justice Kimaru said.

The estate—spread out in diverse locations such as Embu, Kiambu, Nairobi and the Coast—comprises large tracts of land under tea and coffee, rental houses, companies, stocks and millions of shillings held in various banks.

CANCELLED 1975 WILL

The judge cancelled the 1975 will, largely supported by the widow Mary Njoki Karuga, saying it was not witnessed as required by law and did not meet the threshold of such a document.

He also nullified the 1999 will — even though it had been witnessed by former Cabinet minister Njenga Karume, who has since died, and Rev Hiti Kabetu — saying Mr Koinange made it while he was not mentally stable.

Further, Justice Kimaru restored a contentious 305-acre farm valued at more than Sh1.8 billion, which is under tea and coffee, to the estate after former Permanent Secretary Wilfred Karuga Koinange —the first-born son of the deceased —irregularly transferred it to himself in 1994.

The former PS had been appointed a guardian of the estate by Justice Erastus Githinji in 1998. After his death in 2012, his widow Dr Rosemary Koinange represented by lawyer Gibson Kamau Kuria took his place.

“The court therefore declares the transfer of share to Dr Koinange was procured through fraud and is hereby nullified,” said the judge about the land registered under CKK Estate Limited.

Justice Kimaru, however, commended the widow of the former PS for being “a decent person”, who provided crucial documents that others would have concealed from the court.

DEFRAUD THEM

Dr Koinange’s brothers accused him of attempting to defraud them of their rightful share. Lawyers Ashford Mugwuku Muriuki — for the administrators and six beneficiaries, and Jeremy Njenga and Dr John Khaminwa—representing other beneficiaries and the widow—had questioned the validity of the 1999 will that recognised the former PS as a major beneficiary. 

“I concur with Mr Muriuki that the former administrator (Koinange) was suffering from a mental condition doctors described as Alzheimer’s disease which is a degenerative brain disease that totally affects the cognitive functions of a person,” the judge ruled in his 12-page determination.

Justice Kimaru said Mr Muriuki presented the testimony of a top neurologist Dr SMG Mwinzi, who treated the former PC in 1998 and in May 2001 and who said the condition had persisted for 10 years. The position was supported by Dr SG Gatere, a consultant psychiatrist, who said Mr Koinange’s health had deteriorated over time, characterised by stress and diabetes, and worsened by the undetermined divorce case with his estranged wife who sought distribution of the matrimonial property.

Medical documents that had been filed by the former PS in court on his father’s apparent good health were dismissed. 

Sealing the fate of the validity of the 1999 Will, Justice Kimaru said, “The medical reports are conclusive in that regard and if there is any doubt as to the state of mind of the deceased in 1989, that was clarified by Mr Justice Erustus Githinji (now a judge of appeal) who observed Koinange in court.”

Justice Githinji, who was then hearing a succession case filed by the estranged wife of the former provincial administrator, said in his ruling of February 16, 1999 that Mr Koinange “has been escorted to court by a lady who is supporting him. I have heard him making inaudible comments”.

Justice Kimaru said the ruling by Justice Githinji was delivered four months before the will was purportedly made.