A public empire scandal is brewing in the former cabinet minister John Michuki’s family. In the latest wrangle, Michuki’s last born daughter has filed a fresh case seeking to revoke a document allowing her to two siblings to manage their parents ‘multi-billion shillings Estate’.
The estate of the minister who died together with his wife in 2012 is to be shared among his six children; Anne Wanjiru Mutahi, Fredrick Chege, Francis Murai, Sheila Murugi, Martin Michuki and Yvonne Wanja however peace has been lacking since.
Wanja wants the court to revoke a grant probate of her father and mother Josephine Watiri Michuki that was awarded to Wanjiru and Chege.
“The respondents have willingly failed to diligently administer the estate. They have hoodwinked the beneficiaries that they wish the estate to be distributed. All businesses under the estate have performed worse, year after year and debts have increased,” Wanja says.
“The liabilities of Nairobi Golf Hotels have mushroomed to Sh 625 million.”
The Michuki last born also accuses her siblings of borrowing money from the estate for personal use while excluding her from the affairs of the property.
In her amended supporting affidavit, Wanja says Wanjiru has denied her access to the family’s probate lawyer Njoroge Regeru and Company Advocates.
“The first respondent conspired to frustrate my mother’s wish to have her meet her lawyer Raphael Ngethe in August 2012 to execute her wishes into a new will despite numerous requests,” Wanja says.
She adds that Murugi forced her dying mother to sign some unknown documents.
Wanja accuses Chege and Wanjiru of neglecting their mother by booking themselves into a hospital in India for four days as their mother lay on her death bed “even though they were not sick”.
She says a week after her mother’s burial, her sister presented two testaments authored by their mother to the other Michuki children.
One of the testaments was hand written and dated June 7, 2012. The other was June 24, 2009 will in which Wanja was named as co-executioner.
In the handwritten and signed last wishes, four tentative trustees were listed, Wanja says.
The Michuki last born says her mother laid out the basis for her estate settlement and listed Mr Nicholas Ng’ang’a (current Safaricom chairman), Martin Michuki, Chege and Wanja as the tentative trustees.
However, despite Josephine’s request to Wanjiru to have her wishes documented by her lawyer and brought to her for signing, it never happened, Wanja says.
“Shortly after my mother’s death, the respondent retrieved the original copy of the last wishes from my mother’s file at Ndung’u, Njoroge and Kwach Advocates. She later forwarded to me a copy of the said last wishes which differed with what she had shown my siblings,” Wanja says.
According to Wanja, the entire portfolio of the estate was built by her parents, with her mother being in charge of the business side while her father was fully engaged as a politician and government minister.