A Nairobi advocate who once faced accusations of mishandling millions in a botched property deal linked to former Attorney General James Karugu now stands at the center of a far graver scandal—the alleged forgery of Karugu’s Last Will and Testament.
Court filings, forensic evidence, and DCI investigations paint a damning picture of a legal professional who may have exploited his proximity to one of Kenya’s most distinguished legal figures to defraud the late James Karugu and seize control of his estate.
From a Disputed Deposit to a Forged Will — How William Kimani Richu Allegedly Moved to Defraud the Late James Karugu Twice
The first red flag appeared nearly a decade ago. In January 2017, the Sunday Nation reported that Centurion Holdings Ltd.—a company linked to the late former Attorney General James Karugu—had accused advocate William Kimani Richu of gross professional misconduct in an Sh85 million land transaction.
According to the company, Richu received a Sh17 million deposit, falsely claimed he had secured the properties through caveats, and then refused to return either the funds or the client files. He hid behind the excuse of unpaid legal fees to justify withholding everything. Richu denied wrongdoing, and the matter proceeded as a civil dispute. Many assumed it was an isolated professional failing.
It was not. It was the opening chapter.
The Forged Will That Shook Kenya’s Legal World
Today, William Kimani Richu appears in fresh court proceedings — not as legal counsel representing a client, but as a petitioner fighting to stop criminal charges from reaching him. At the center of these proceedings is a purported Last Will and Testament of the late James Boro Karugu, dated 2014, which the Directorate of Criminal Investigations has subjected to forensic examination with deeply incriminating results.
Forensic analysts found that the initials attributed to the late Karugu throughout the Will were not authored by him. Investigators also discovered that the execution page of the Will had been deliberately tampered with — its page number concealed and fraudulently inserted into the document. These are not the hallmarks of an honest clerical error. They are the hallmarks of deliberate fabrication.
The irregularities do not end there. Names of individuals closely associated with the deceased appear misspelled in the document. The drafting style falls well below the professional standard expected of a lawyer of Karugu’s stature and reputation. Asset schedules attached to the Will trace back to external sources rather than to the deceased himself, raising serious questions about how those entries found their way into a testamentary instrument that Karugu supposedly authored and signed.
Investigators also identified an email trail leading to Brenda Irungu, a person of interest in the case who allegedly worked in coordination with Jane Wangechi Gitau Kabiu, a former Company Secretary whom the DCI has identified as one of the masterminds of the forgery and fraud.
A Pattern of Obstruction and Resistance
The DCI’s investigation did not proceed without resistance. When investigators first requested the original Will, they received only certified copies. Investigators had to apply sustained pressure before the originals were finally handed over — and what they found when they examined those originals only deepened suspicions.
Fred Ojiambo, a lawyer who participated in the process, revealed that Peter Gachuhi of Kaplan and Stratton had held the original Will at his offices for more than two years before handing it over. When forensic experts finally examined the document, they confirmed that not only were the initials forged, but the entire structure of the Will had been altered in a manner designed to conceal and deceive.
The DCI concluded that the Will and its accompanying Trust Deed were falsified documents and recommended criminal charges against several individuals. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions has since moved to institute those proceedings, marking a significant escalation in a case that started as a succession dispute and has grown into a criminal matter of national importance.
Using the Courts to Escape Justice
Faced with the prospect of criminal prosecution, Richu and his co-petitioners rushed to the Constitutional and Human Rights Division of the High Court, seeking orders to shut down the criminal investigation and block any proceedings from going forward. They argued that their constitutional rights were under threat and that the matter should stay within the civil succession framework.
The Attorney General rejected that argument without hesitation. The application, he stated, was “incompetent, misconceived, bad in law, and an abuse of court process.” He made the position clear — forgery is a criminal matter, and it cannot be shielded from prosecution simply because it happens to intersect with a succession cause. The petitioners, he said, should face their accusers in a court of law.
That argument will now be tested before the courts. But the broader story is already clear.
William Kimani Richu stands accused of attempting to defraud the late James Karugu not once, but twice — first through the mishandling of millions in a property deal, and now through the alleged forgery of the very Will that was meant to protect his legacy. Kenya’s legal profession and justice system must now deliver a reckoning that matches the gravity of these allegations.
