Three widows and son of former MP risk jail over contempt in Sh1b inheritance

Pinkam House in Nakuru is among prime properties at the centre of a succession dispute among the family of late Nakuru MP Philip Kamau. [Harun Wathari, Standard]

Three widows and a son of former Nakuru nominated MP Philip Kamau risk being committed to a civil jail should the court find them guilty of disobeying its orders.

Kamau's daughter Elizabeth Wanjiku wants her brother Joseph Njuguna and her step-mothers Teresia Njeri, Margaret Damat and Lucy Wanjiru to be committed to civil jail for six months.

On September 29, 2023, the court appointed Kamau's widows and his son as joint administrators of his estate estimated to be worth Sh1 billion.

The court issued them with a grant of letters of administration and directed them to manage and execute Kamau's will and distribute his estate to all beneficiaries.

However, following a protest by Wanjiku over the appointment, the court recalled the grant on October 18, and subsequently issued stay orders stopping the execution of the grant on November 20.

Stay orders

In her application, Wanjiku states that the four have blatantly disobeyed the orders and have interfered with the estate.

She claims that they have evicted her brother Johnson Kibunja from a land in Ngata forming part of the estate, and have embarked on construction work.

"They are constructing permanent buildings using funds from the estate without any legal authority and despite the court orders," she deposes.

Kamau's estate includes the famous Pinkam House and Molo House in Nakuru Central Business District, a slaughterhouse, a funeral home, prime plots, residential homes, shops, land, enterprises, motor vehicles, and savings in banks.

Other assets are shares in Mwariki Farm Limited, Kiamunyi Farm Limited, Embakasi Ranching Limited, and Mangu Enterprise Limited.