Bakari Kisalu Malanda at the Milimani Law Courts on February 8. Inset: The late former Pepsi director William Mutilangi Mulwa.
Bakari Kisalu Malanda, a Tanzanian man, says that he is an adopted son of former Pepsi director William Mutilangi Mulwa, whose multimillion-shilling estate he is laying claim to.
A chief magistrate’s court in Nairobi released him on cash bail in a case where he has been charged with meddling with a deceased person’s property. Senior Principal Magistrate Gilbert Shikwe granted him cash bail of Sh100,000 with an alternative of a Sh200,000 bond and one surety of a similar amount.
His lawyer, Bryan Khaemba, alleged that the 35-year-old Tanzanian national was adopted by Mulwa five years ago, and that he has documents confirming the claim.
Mulwa died in New York on October 16, 2023. He left behind an enviable estate, estimated to be upwards of Sh500 million. He was a dual citizen of Kenya and the United States.
On Thursday, an argument broke out in court between prosecutors and the Mutilangi family’s legal team over whether to oppose the bail terms.
The prosecution team said it could only oppose Mr Bakari’s release after receiving an affidavit from the investigating officer, Michael Kimilu, who was said to be sick and away from office.
Web of mystery over William Mulwa Mutilangi death and assets.
The Mutilangi’s legal team, led by Musyimi Maingi, intended to oppose granting of bail or bond. But Mr Khaemba said that the Mutilangis can only oppose Mr Bakari’s release through the prosecution team.
“We submitted reasons to him (opposing bail for Bakari) but he seems not to agree with us,” Mr Maingi said. He revealed that a New York court has given temporary administration authority over Mulwa’s estate to the former director’s brother Edward Mutilangi.
Mr Shikwe ruled that there was no reason to deny Mr Bakari bail or bond because the prosecution did not oppose the move.
Also Read: Fight over dead Pepsi millionaire's fortune intensifies as Tanzanian 'heir' takes over house
The magistrate also ordered that Mr Bakari deposits his passport in court.
Following Mulwa’s death, Mr Bakari issued a power of attorney—legal authorisation allowing a designated individual to make decisions on behalf of the executor—in favour of New Jersey-based Peter Githinji, specifically to order Mulwa’s cremation.
The cremation was done before a post-mortem examination was conducted, and the move sparked a battle with Mulwa’s siblings in Kenya.
From left: Mutilangi siblings Edward, Vincent and William during their mother's funeral on November 3, 2013. William died in the US on October 16, 2023. A Tanzanian man claiming to be his son has sought control over William's assets in Kenya and the US. Family archives
The document was drafted by Kahuthu & Kahuthu Advocates. Mr Jimmy Kahuthu, the proprietor of the law firm, was also arrested in connection with the investigation but was released on police cash bail.
Mr Githinji, in a past interview with the Nation, admitted to holding several documents he collected from Mulwa’s house, alongside his BMW sports utility vehicle. He claimed that he will submit the documents in a New York court, where Mulwa’s siblings have filed succession proceedings.
Mr Bakari was arrested on February 6, nearly three months after Mulwa’s brothers, Vincent and Edward Mutilangi, filed a complaint with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
Last week when seeking to have Mr Bakari detained, the DCI said in a court affidavit that the Tanzanian national had threatened to flee if granted police cash bail pending arraignment.
Mr Bakari has on several occasions, since November, 2022, occupied one of three houses that Mulwa owned in Greenpark estate in Athi River.
