The Court of Appeal ha settled a multi-billion Naivas siblings feud in a ruling that has seen the eldest brother, Newton Kagiri Mukuha, lose big. In the ruling, the Court of Appeal has upheld the ruling of the High Court which had found that the eldest of the three fighting brothers has no claim in the multi-billion retailer.

In the new ruling, a three judge bench ruled that said Newton Kagiri Mukuha failed to show how the High Court was wrong when it ruled that he had no stake in Naivas, ending a nine-year family feud that entangled the retailer. “We believe we have said enough to demonstrate that the appellant’s appeal is without merit and the same is hereby dismissed in its entirety,” Justices Roselyn Nambuye, Fatuma Sichale and Sankale ole Kantai said.

Kagiri went to court seeking to block any stake sales in the retailer. Kagiri is also seeking the ouster of his brother David Kimani as chief executive officer of Naivas.

He also wanted a seat on the board of the retailer, a 20 percent stake and additional shares from the 20 percent stake held by his dad, the late Peter Mukuha Kago. Apparently, he claims that he is entitled to a 20 percent stake worth Sh. 4 billion from his seed capital that established Naivas and the inheritance of his father’s stake.

Kagiri had also petitioned the court to freeze further share sales in Naivas and for a deposit of the Sh. 6 billion, which a consortium of investors paid for a 30 percent stake in the retailer in an interest-earning joint account.

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The fight for control of Naivas first went public in November 2012 when Kagiri went to court, seeking orders to stop the sale of the supermarket to South Africa’s Massmart. This deal collapsed. In the family feuds, Kagiri’s brothers have previously termed him a stranger to the retail chain.

The court has previously stated that Kagiri has no claim to the retail chain. Apparently,

Kagiri had sparked a fight for the family assets in the 90s, prompting for an estate division on October 31, 1999. At the time, the assets were trading under Rongai Self-Service Store which had three supermarkets in Elburgon, Rongai and Naivasha.

“Kagiri was offered the Rongai store and a house. His younger brother, Simon Gachwe and sister, Grace Wambui, were given a house and the Elburgon store while David Kimani and his sister, Linet Wairimu, took over the Naivasha business. Kimani and Mr Gachwe later teamed up to run the Naivasha business and ultimately grew the supermarket into the retail giant that is Naivas. The two brothers later offered their two sisters a 15 percent stake each and a 20 percent ownership to their father, Mukuha. Kimani and Mr Gachwe have a 25 percent stake each in Naivas. This was ownership ahead of the Sh. 6 billion deal,” a report in the dailies said.

This saw Justice Anyara Emukule in 2014 rule that Kagiri had no claim and could only contest for the 20 per cent stake that was allocated to his father.