JJ Kamotho's estate: Widow to sell house to cater for upkeep, medical expenses
Former Kanu secretary general and Mathioya MP the late Joseph Kamotho.
Former cabinet minister and Kanu bigwig John Joseph Kamotho’s widow has received court’s nod to sell his Sh82 million Nairobi house to raise money for her upkeep and medical expenses, pending determination of a family dispute over control of his wealth.
Justice Aggrey Muchelule, however, ordered that half of the sale proceeds be shared equally among the four children of the late politician while the other half go to the widow, Ms Eunice Wambui.
“These provisions shall be taken into account when distributing the rest of the estate of JJ Kamotho,” said Justice Muchelule.
Apart from the medical expenses, the widow told court that the intended sale of the property in question, described as Town House No. 7 Jadenville Country Homes, was to pay her workers, to pay for her upkeep, to settle security and utility bills and to buy a specialized vehicle costing about Sh2,680,000.
Ms Wambui said she needs the vehicle because she is sickly and confined to a wheelchair, and for the last 10 years, she has not been working.
Family Court Judge Muchelule declined opposition raised by two of the children, who had argued that the estate was being intermeddled with and they wanted the widow to account to the beneficiaries.
The court also noted that the widow begun to sell the property in question before the grant for administration of the estate was confirmed.
She did not seek the court’s authority before engaging in the transaction and she went to court after she had begun to transact, said the judge.
The registered owners of the property are Mr Kamotho, who died in 2014, and the widow as tenants in common in equal shares.
“Be it as it may, I consider that the widow was married to Kamotho for many years. This can be evidenced by the fact that the children were between 48 and 37 years of age when the case was filed in 2017. She was then 71 years old. She is now about 76. She is sickly and on a wheelchair,” stated Justice Muchelule.
He added that in all of the property left by Kamotho, including the house, there is certainly an element of her contribution to their acquisition and development.
“The couple educated their children who are now pursuing professional careers. They will certainly each benefit from the estate when the grant is finally confirmed,” the judge said.
In the ruling, the judge noted that the dispute was a straightforward one which had remained unresolved since 2017.
“I also considered that this apparently straightforward case has remained unresolved since 2017, largely because of lack of understanding between the widow and the respondents (two of her children). There is no telling whether, come the day of hearing of the application for confirmation of the grant, there won’t be a twist of some kind,” said Justice Muchelule.
“It is quite unfortunate that the widow who was once normal but is now confined to a wheelchair says that she needs to buy a specialized vehicle to ferry her around, but the respondents say that, according to them, that is not necessary. That must be very painful for her,” stated the judge.
Mr Kamotho died on December 6, 2014 in a hospital in South Africa. He left his widow Eunice Wambui Kamotho and children Charles Githii Kamotho, James Mwai Kamotho, Marianne Nyokabi Kamotho and David Waweru Kamotho.
Ms Wambui’s request in court to sell the house had been opposed by Marianne and David. They stated that even before making the application in court on April 19, 2022 she had on March 17, 2022 entered into an agreement to sell the property for Sh82 million.
They said she had received a deposit of Sh8.2 million, leaving a balance of Sh73.8 million. They stated that they were opposed to piecemeal distribution of the estate and want the parties to wait for the confirmation of the grant when the entire estate will be distributed.
Their case was that although their mother is sick and confined to a wheelchair, she had a comprehensive medical cover and, therefore, no medical bills would be outstanding.
As for the vehicle, they stated that although handicapped, she did not need it. As for the said bills, their assertion was that she was receiving substantial rent, she was on pension from the Government, her husband having been a cabinet minister, and, therefore, she is sufficiently financially catered.
They stated that the alleged sale had been reported to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and was being investigated. According to Ms Nyokabi and Mr Waweru, this was part of the intermeddling that Ms Wambui was involved in.
Among the properties at the centre of the succession case are Mr Kamotho’s five parcels of land at Gacharage Murang’a, land in Kakuzi Murang’a, the house at Jadenville Country Homes and a matrimonial house in Kitisuru, Nairobi.
He also had shares in Safaricom, KenGen, Britam, Barclays, Sameer Africa, and had a bank account at Standard Bank.
