This archive report was first published on 8 May 2020.
On May 8, 2020, the High Court in Nairobi made a landmark ruling in a long-standing dispute over the wealth distribution of former powerful minister Mbiyu Koinange.
The court, presided over by Justice Aggrey Muchelule, ruled that the properties of the late minister, who served in the Cabinet of first president Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, would be distributed equally among his 12 beneficiaries, including two widows and 10 children.
Justice Muchelule emphasized that all the children have equal worth, regardless of their sex or marital status. He also ordered that space reservations 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.
The Koinange family's vast wealth includes properties such as the 240 acres of land adjacent to Two Rivers Mall in Nairobi, valued at Sh. 2.88 billion, and a Sh. 2 billion holding next to Re-insurance Plaza.
Other assets include shares in firms such as Magadi Soda, BAT, Centum, Ocean View Beach Hotel, and Limuru Dairy, as well as buildings in Kiambu, Nakuru, and Mombasa.
The court also ordered the sale of a plot on Lunga Lunga Road and 800 acres of Muthera Farm in Nakuru, with the proceeds to be banked in a joint account operated by the four administrators of the estate.
