In March this year, President Uhuru Kenyatta’s brother in-law Udi Gecaga was locked in a fresh bitter battle over the control of millions of shillings with his stepmother. Mr. Udi Gecaga took her step mother Margaret Gacigi Gecaga to court over the control of money linked to the transfer of shares in Gateway Insurance.
Udi is married to President Uhuru Kenyatta’s elder sister, Jeni Wambui. His son Jomo works at State House as the President’s long-serving personal assistant while her daughter, Nana, serves as chief executive of the Kenyatta International Convention Centre.
Six months later, Margaret suffered a blow after the High Court declined to set aside an arbitral award which had allowed Udi to reclaim their palatial home in the upmarket Muthaiga suburb in Nairobi.
High Court Judge Grace Nzioka dismissed Gacigi’s application, saying she raised issues which were the subject of arbitration proceedings and which had already been addressed by the tribunal.
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“The role of the court is not to re-evaluate the evidence adduced before the tribunal and replace it with its own decision,” Justice Nzioka ruled.
Margaret had filed a suit in 2011 claiming that Udi had fraudulently transferred to himself eight properties including the Muthaiga home, which were initially registered in her late husband’s name. The transfer happened between 2008 and 2011.
But Gecaga countered thisand asked the court to allow him to access Sh. 57.6 million held in a joint account at KCB Group. This money had been placed in a joint account pending conclusion of the suit. He also accused Margaret of refusing to approve the release of the money after the Court of Appeal ruled that the 3.2 million shares belonging to his father, Bethuel Gecaga, were not part of the matrimonial property.
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According to the Court of Apeal ruling, Margaret had no direct claim to the shares, which were transferred in 2012 to a firm known as Quinvest Limited, where Udi has an interest. Margaret had termed the transfer of the Gateway shares fraudulent and illegal, arguing she was entitled to the stake in the insurance firm as the spouse of Bethuel.