This archive report was first published on 22 July 2019.
After a 38-year succession battle, the family of the late Mbiyu Koinange is finally set to share a Sh. 10 billion estate. The development comes after one of Mbiyu's daughters, Ms. Lennah Wanjiku, dropped her plans to appeal a court ruling that ordered her to surrender 88 acres of land adjacent to Two-Rivers Mall in Nairobi.
Ms. Wanjiku's decision to drop the appeal was made to avoid further delay to the distribution of Mbiyu's wealth, according to her lawyer Ochieng Oduol. This move effectively brings to an end a long-standing succession battle that has lasted for nearly four decades.
As part of the estate, Koinange's fourth wife, Eddah Wanjiru Mbiyu, had sued to have Wanjiku return 88 acres of land situated next to the Two Rivers mall. The land is estimated to be worth Sh. 1.4 billion.
Ms. Eddah Wanjiru was backed by the majority of the family members, who sought that the court stops the distribution of Mbiyu's wealth until the land is returned. However, Ms. Wanjiku refuted the claims, stating that the family was aware of her stay on the 88 acres after she was forcefully evicted from the Two Rivers land.
Ms. Wanjiku had also argued that she had already made investments worth Sh. 450 million in the property and would willingly surrender other assets that are due to her with the distribution order if allowed to stay on the property.
The disputed Mbiyu Koinange's property includes one of the biggest undeveloped plots in the Nairobi CBD, a Sh. 2 billion holding next to the Reinsurance Plaza, as well as shares in numerous firms and multi-billion shilling land and buildings in Kiambu, Nakuru, and Mombasa.
