High Court dismisses Shikuku son's bid for father's 'billions'

Late Butere MP Martin Shikuku, [File, Standard]

The High Court in Nairobi has dismissed former politician Martin Shikuku's son's application to force Gulf Bank and Standard Chartered Bank to release his money, alleged to be in billions.

Justice Hillary Chemitei said that Emmanuel Noel Osyle Shikuku had no authority to file the application as his siblings, Stephen Ashiembi Shikuku and Martha Shikuku, were the only ones recognised by the court as the administrators and executors of his wishes.

Judge Chemitei observed that Justice Thande Mugure had stripped Osyle of the powers to manage the wealth left by the former Butere Member of Parliament and Ford Asili leader.

"The said orders issued on August 6, 2021 have neither been set aside, stayed nor successfully appealed against. As such, Stephen Ashiembi Shikuku and Martha Shikuku remain the joint administrators of the Estate of Joseph Martin Shikuku Oyondi; while Emmanuel Noel Osyle Shikuku remains a beneficiary of the deceased's estate," argued Justice Chemitei.

In the case, Emmanuel asked the court to force the two banks to release the money as the succession case had allegedly ended, claiming the file was closed by Justice Lydiah Achode on October 12, 2021.

Despite the two banks not responding to the application, Justice Chemitei noted that there is an active case before the court that will be mentioned on Wednesday this week.

He directed Stephen and Martha to seek the court's nod to share the wealth within 45 days.

Shikuku, born on Christmas Day in 1932, had prepared for the day he would join the ancestors. So organised was the firebrand politician in life that he dug his own grave, bought a coffin, and kept four bulls that would be slaughtered for mourners.

He knew that death was inevitable. It came knocking while he was 79 years old.

Nevertheless, the man who was known during his heydays as the people's watchman ended up on the long list of politicians whose wealth is subject to court battles.

The battle in Shikuku's home was first sparked by a one-page document that was claimed to be his Will.

The letter was addressed 'to whom it may concern' and was allegedly signed by Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga, now deceased, former Kenyan-British conservationist and politician Dr Richard Leakey, and Shikuku himself.

It detailed that in the event Shikuku died without a Will, two years after the date of death, then it would be deemed to be his final wishes.

In the letter, Emmanuel was granted the right to inherit a parcel of land in Kiminini of Trans Nzoia County. At the same time, it indicated that Shikuku had only one wife, the mother of Emmanuel, identified as Dolly Achieng Shikuku.

In the end, the court found that the document could not have amounted to a Will.

In the case, Stephen, Martha, Frida Nafuna, Jacob Ndeche, and Jacinta Amunga challenged the authenticity of the document. They sued Emmanuel, maintaining that the politician was a polygamous man.

They argued that contrary to the document, Shikuku had three wives: Achieng (deceased), Beverlyn Ongecha (deceased), and Frida Nafuna Shikuku, who was the only surviving widow.

The five were of the view that the former Butere MP had left at least 10 persons alive who ought to get a share of his earthly wealth.

Those listed included Frida, Stephen, Martha, Emmanuel, Sylvano Madanji, Timothy Oyondi, Abraham Andayi, Joan Ayuka, Jacob Andeche, and Lucy Shikuku.

From the court documents, Shikuku was estimated to be worth around Sh25 million at the time of his death.

They claimed that Emmanuel got the green light from the court to manage the estate using a forged document.

According to them, it was impossible to leave Emmanuel with the Kiminini land as Shikuku's two late wives, two daughters, and a son had been buried there. They also accused him of allegedly intermeddling with the estate.

In addition, they further claimed the surviving widow had a matrimonial home which was built on the same land.

They also cast doubts about how Shikuku failed to recognise his other wives and had only addressed Emmanuel Noel and Sylvano. At the same time, Justice Mugure Thande heard that the "Will" had no listed properties and did not mention all the other children.

"The document put me on inquiry as it had some fundamental flaws that I associate with my father, who during his lifetime proudly practised polygamy and ensured that all his children knew each other," said Stephen in his supporting affidavit.

According to him, their father died without a Will.

The five children stated that the law firm alleged to have drafted the letter denied having authored the same or having Shikuku as one of its clients. In addition, they stated that Dr Leakey denied signing the letter on January 28, 2020, having witnessed the document before the court.

Raila, however, did not respond to the queries by the Shikukus.

The court ordered that Emmanuel should be served with the documents. Justice Thande noted that he did not respond or attend the court hearing on whether the letter was valid or not.

The judge was of the view that since Dr Leakey had denied it, then there was only Raila in the picture.

She observed that the law requires that at least two people should sign a Will as witnesses for it to have a legal effect.

"Even if the Will herein were indeed made by the deceased, the same would be invalid for want of two competent witnesses. In the situation, it is unnecessary to call expert evidence to determine whether or not the signature in the Will is that of the deceased," said Justice Thande.

In the meantime, she observed that the language in the letter was not that of an advocate. According to Justice Thande, no lawyer would entitle a Will "to who it may concern". She was of the view that since Emmanuel did not defend the document, its authenticity could not be vouched for.

Judge Thande noted that despite the court being told that Shikuku had 10 children, the document had only four: Emmanuel, Sylvano, Lucy Awuor Shikuku, and Martina Maende.

She revoked the green light granted on February 23, 2021, to Emmanuel to manage the estate. Justice Thande appointed Stephen and Martha as the administrators.

"The court sees no reason not to exercise its discretion to appoint both as administrators of the estate of the deceased in the best interests of all concerned," decreed Thande.

But Emmanuel wrote to Justice Thande asking that she withdraw from the case. He alleged that the orders were issued without a hearing.

Previously, Justice Aggrey Muchelule (now a Court of Appeal Judge) had handled the case. Others include Justice Stephen Riechi and Maureen Odero, and it is now before Justice Hillary Chemitei.

Stephen and Martha have been pursuing to have the estate distributed, arguing that their kin had agreed with the proposal to have the wealth divided among all.

"There has been no counter-proposal from the other beneficiaries as to how the estate ought to be distributed and hence the submissions to this court of proposals made by the majority of the beneficiaries," Stephen and Martha claimed in their application filed last year.

They proposed that the Kiminini land, which was estimated to be 113 acres, should be split equally among all the beneficiaries.

An apartment in Oyster Gardens was proposed to be shared between Ibrahim and Stephen, while Martha, Timothy, Abraham, Joan, and Jacob were allocated a second apartment in the same estate.

A house at Woodley was to be shared by Emmanuel, Jacob, and Lucy.

It was also suggested that a property in South C was to be sold and its proceeds utilised to settle the administration fee.

The remainder, according to the court documents, was proposed to be shared equally between all the children and the surviving widow.

Stephen and Martha at the same time proposed that another property in Lubao should also be sold and the money utilised.

Then there was money in the banks. They were of the view that these should be apportioned in equal shares to all.

They proposed shares in Kenya Airways and Kenya Power and Lighting Limited be sold and the amount generated shared equally.

According to their suggestion, the vehicle was also to be converted into cash for sharing.

The last item on the list was farm equipment. It was suggested that Stephen and Martha would hold the property in trust for the rest.

Those who signed the document in agreement over the sharing formula are Frida, Martha, Stephen, Jacob, Jacinta, and Joan.

In the meantime, Michael Majimbo came in as the sixth objector. In June this year, he appointed Achero Mufuayia Advocates as his representatives in the case.

The late Shikuku was born in Magadi to John Oyondi and Lucia Andeche.

After high school, he briefly worked at Caltex and moved to East African Railways before opting to join politics in 1952 while aged 19.

In 1954, Shikuku was appointed to represent the Kenya African Democratic Union (KADU) at the Lancaster House Conference alongside the Kenya African National Union (KANU) for talks about Kenya's independence. He was the youngest member of this delegation at the age of 28. He also took part in crafting the first Constitution of Kenya at the conference.

After the Lancaster House talks, Shikuku joined the Nairobi People's Convention Party (NPCP) and he was immediately made its Secretary General. Afterwards, he resigned to KADU as a youth along with Ronald Ngala and Daniel Moi.

In 1963, Shikuku vied for the Butere MP seat on a KADU ticket and won.

In 1969, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta appointed him as an assistant minister. However, after a few days, he clashed with Kenyatta after referring to the ruling party KANU in Parliament as dead. Shikuku was detained and was only released in 1978 after Kenyatta's death.

After being released from detention, Shikuku again vied for his Butere MP seat and recaptured it. Then President Daniel Moi appointed him assistant minister for Livestock Development. He was a prominent politician between 1963 and 1997.

Shikuku went by the moniker "people's watchman" because he always defended the rights of Kenyans inside and outside Parliament. He died on August 22, 2012.