Court ends Njenga Karume Estate's battle, clears path for family to share out wealth

The Family Court has cleared the way for relatives of the late former Cabinet minister Njenga Karume to share his vast wealth. 

Justice Patricia Nyaundi directed that Karume’s assets, worth billions of shillings, should be shared by the agreement of his family.

The judge threw out the protests by Njenga’s widow, Grace Karume, and his son, Samuel Karume, finding that the tycoon’s wishes had taken care of everyone in the family.

The petitioners had raised questions on who the beneficiaries of Karume’s son, Joseph Karume, were and how much they ought to get from the estate.

They argued that the proposed distribution mode was discriminatory to Joseph’s estate.

According to them, the executors of Karume’s will did not compensate Joseph from the sale of a property in South C.

However, Justice Nyaundi said the property was not part or the patriarch’s wealth. Instead, she observed that it was under Karume Investment Limited.

They also claimed that they had not been given enough provision from the wealth.

The judge dismissed this claim too.

“The executors have, as required by law, made provision for the beneficiaries of the estate who are the children and spouse of the deceased (including those who have since died.) The distribution also considers the wishes of the deceased as expressed in his will,” said Nyaundi.

At the time of his death, Njenga Karume was among the wealthiest individuals in Kenya.

His vast business empire cut across almost every major economic artery of the country, with multi million investments in agriculture, transport, hospitality and the Nairobi Securities Exchange.

His was, however, not an easy life, and from personal testimony from his autobiography, Karume would easily pass as the poster child for the millions of struggling youth looking to make something of their life from nothing.

The self-made business mogul was born in 1929 on Lord Delamere’s ranch in Naivasha.

He was the eldest of eight children to Joseph Karume (later changed name to Karogo) and Teresia Njeri Karogo, who were indentured servants working for colonial white settlers for a pittance.

From such an impoverished background, the young Karume made it his life’s work, even with little education, to amass as much wealth as possible so that his children do not have to go through the life he did.

And in one lifetime, he had amassed enough wealth to ensure his dependents and their dependents live a comfortable life.

His poor education background was never a secret. Often, as a minister in successive governments, he would find it hard to eloquently read speeches, but what he lacked in a formal education, he more than compensated for in his thirst to succeed.

In his will, he recognises the importance of education and makes sure those in his bloodline who wish to further their studies will not miss that opportunity. In his book, he says he could not proceed with education because “in those days, there were no schools for black children in Elementaita”.

He, however, moved locations to get a chance at education. He was later to earn a diploma in business management. He is said to have had a strictness with which he did business and often spoke out against laziness.