Koinange Family: The High Court in Nairobi last year finally settled a long standing dispute on the wealth distribution of former powerful late minister Mbiyu Koinange.
In a ruling that was made by Justice Aggrey Muchelule in May 2020, the properties of the minister who served first president Mzee Jomo Kenyatta’s Cabinet would be distributed among his 12 beneficiaries, including two widows who are still alive and 10 children.
Justice Muchelule said in his ruling that all the children have equal worth irrespective of their sex or marital status. He further ruled that during the distribution, space reservations must be made for public utilities such as roads, police stations and schools on some of the huge tracts of land owned by the Koinange family.
Hotels, land, companies associated with President Uhuru Kenyatta
“One wishes that all Kenyans can get into a habit of planning their lives, especially thinking about what will happen to their families upon their death,” Justice Muchelule said.
According to a report that appeared in the Business Daily, “top on the list of Koinange’s property are the 240 acres of land adjacent to Two Rivers Mall in Nairobi valued at Sh. 2.88 billion and housed under a firm called Closeburn, which initially had 600 acres. About 260 acres of the property were later sold to an international investment group and another 100 acres to Centum Investment, which used it to construct the Two Rivers Mall.”
The report further said that other assets include one of the biggest undeveloped plots in the Nairobi central business district, a Sh. 2 billion holding next to Re-insurance Plaza.
“It is currently used as a private parking lot and generates Sh. 108 million annually in fees. There are also shares in many firms, including Magadi Soda, BAT, Centum, Ocean View Beach Hotel and Limuru Dairy and buildings in Kiambu, Nakuru and Mombasa.
Other multi-billion shilling properties include over 1,000 acres in Kiambu worth Sh. 7.8 billion, several parcels in Nakuru worth about Sh. 1 billion and plots valued at Sh. 4.4 billion in Nairobi. The value of his shares was not quoted in court documents,” the report said.
“A plot on Lunga Lunga Road and 800 acres of Muthera Farm in Nakuru would be sold and the proceeds banked in a joint account operated by the four administrators of the estate.
And after allocating 150 acres for roads, schools and a police station, the rest will be shared out equally among the 12 beneficiaries. 10 acres at Ehothia Farm, 95 acres at Waehothia Farm, all in Kiambu County, will be sold and the proceeds banked in the said account,” the report added.