The family of the late Peter Mukuha Kago – the founder of Naivas – the country’s leading supermarket chain – has been rocked by fresh ownership wrangles after three children, separately moved to court to seek to replace their brother as administrator of their father’s estate.
Mr Newton Kagira Mukuha, his sister Grace Wambui and brother David Kimani Mukuha have filed applications at the Nakuru High Court seeking to be appointed administrators of the estate, in place of their brother Simon Gashwe, who died in August 2019.
Gashwe, the former chairman of Naivas Supermarkets, died while undergoing treatment at the Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi. Gashwe, who owned 25 percent of Naivas shares, was appointed sole administrator of the empire on May 6, 2010.
In the court petition, Mr Kagira says he is worried that the estate will go to waste due to lack of representation, adding that it is likely to be looted by strangers.
He argues that his brother’s death was sufficient grounds to revoke the letters of administration and appoint a new administrator.
He claims that the distribution of their father’s estate had not been finalised by the time Gashwe died in 2019, arguing that certain assets have not been distributed.
“It is in the interest of the deceased’s estate that a substitution be made,” Mr Kagira says.
Mr Kimani on the other hand claims that his siblings namely Teresia Njeri, Charles Mukuha, Grace Muthoni, Ruth Wanjiru, Hannah Njeri and Linet Wairimu consented to his appointment as an administrator.
He argues that none of Gashwe’s heirs had consented to the appointment of the other applicants, namely Mr Kagira and Ms Wambui, as administrators.
Mr Kimani opposed Mr Kagira’s application after accusing him of filing cases against the estate, thereby creating a conflict of interest by being both a litigant and seeking to be appointed an administrator.
On her part, Ms Wambui in her application says that Gashwe was appointed Naivas administrator with the consent of the family members, to manage the estate distribute it among the family members and pay debts.
She says her brother died before the administration was completed, adding that her father’s estate has been sued and several cases are pending in court.
Ms Wambui claims that some other properties of her late father’s estate have been wrongly distributed and that there is a need for an administrator or administrators to resolve the dispute.
And at the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi, Newton Kagira Mukuha-the eldest of the three Naivas brothers who have been locked in a gruelling battle for control of the supermarkets since 2013, has renewed his fight for the retail chain.
Mr Kagira has been feuding with his younger brothers for control of the multi-billion-shilling empire since 2013.
Mr Kagira accuses his brothers, the late Gashwe and Mr Kimani, of fraudulently colluding to exclude him as one of the registered owners of Naivas, thereby disinheriting him from both his and his father’s shares.
Naivas Limited denounced Mr Kagira last year, saying he was a stranger claiming shares in the giant retailer. In its defence, Naivas described Mr Kagira as a stranger to the company with no legal claim to it.
According to Naivas, the High Court dismissed Mr Kagira’s case in 2016, in which he was claiming 20 percent shareholding in Naivas Limited.
Mr Kagira claimed that he was the beneficial owner of Naivas Limited, having contributed 20 percent of the company’s start-up capital when it was established in 1990.
The directors of Naivas Supermarket are listed as Mr David Kimani, who owns 25 percent, the late Simon Gashwe (25 percent), Ms Linet Wairimu (15 percent), Ms Grace Wambui (15 percent) and the late Peter Mukuha Kago with 20 percent.
According to Mr Kagira, on November 25, 2021, the Court of Appeal in Nakuru issued an order directing that the status quo of the disputed shares be maintained pending the determination of the appeal. He is seeking the revocation of the letters of administration issued to Gashwe.
By JOSEPH OPENDA