Ex-Tetu MP fight with brother for Kitisuru estate takes new turn

The control of a Sh20 billion estate of a deceased lawmaker has brought forth a bitter sibling rivalry between two wealthy brothers.

The management of the high-end Waridi Gardens, a posh residential estate located in Kitisuru, Nairobi, has been thrown in limbo following issue of conflicting court orders.

Two judges had given management authority of Waridi Gardens to Mr Gitahi Gethenji and his younger brother Mr James Ndung’u Gethenji, a former Tetu MP.

Lady Justice Wilfrida Okwanyi had on December 4, 2018 vested the control of the estate to the politician who is the developer and overall manager of Kihingo Village (Waridi Gardens) Management Limited (KVWGML), the managing company of the estate. But those powers were stripped by Lady Justice Lois Komingoi on July 9, 2019 through an ex-parte application by Mr Gitahi.

The duo are sons of former Tetu MP Joseph Augustine Gethenji who before joining politics was Director of Personnel Management (DPM) in the first government of the late President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta. The late patriarch also served as a permanent secretary at the Ministry of Labour in the government of former President Daniel arap Moi.

Mr Ndung’u, who is a member of the World Chartered Institute of Marketing, developed the high-end Waridi Gardens Estate with 55 palatial houses built on a 37-acre land which had earlier been the home of Kihingo Roses. Each house stands on a half an acre. He developed the estate with a Sh800 million loan advanced by the Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) between 2007 and 2010.

The two and three storey houses were sold to affluent persons, majority of who are expatriates. Those who bought the houses have been given a share in KHWGML, which has 117 shares.

Mr Ndung’u has 62 shares thereby giving him majority shareholding and controlling power. In an attempt to wrestle the management from the last born, the elder brother, teaming up with the investors in the family company, got a court order stripping the former MP’s managerial authority in the family estate. The order has, however, now been set aside. “Pending the determination of management dispute on September 26, 2019, I hereby set aside the temporary orders I gave on July 9, 2019 appointing Gitahi as Director of KVWGML,” Justice Komingoi ruled.

Justice Komingoi had said the orders she gave were wrong. Pressing for the lifting of those orders, Mr Ndung’u said they had been issued on misrepresentation by Mr Gitahi. The former MP had even complained to the Ombudsman about the conduct of the judge, saying she gave an ex-parte order when there was another order of status quo.

Mr Gitahi wants the powers enjoyed by his brother stripped and managerial authority distributed to investors who have bought shares in the estate.

The leadership wrangle has birthed two main litigations at the Environment and Lands Court (ELC) and Commercial Division, besides a myriad of other applications.

Justice Okwanyi who gave status quo orders on December 4, 2018 will deliver a ruling on the leadership dispute on October 31, 2019 while Justice Komingoi will deliver a decision also on the same issue on September 26, 2019.