Family of late tycoon who built multi-billion empire from 2 hens fight over upkeep of grandchildren

A court battle over the wealth left behind by poultry business mogul Nelson Muguku has landed in court.

Years after the 78-year-old man, who was said to be worth billions died, his children and widow now find themselves in the corridors of justice over the upkeep of his two grandchildren.

Jane Nyanchama, the mother of the two, has sued Muguku's children David Njuru, Francis Muhia, David Muthanji, Sam Maina, Carol Njeri, Janerose Wambui and his widow Leah Muguku, seeking to force them to lift the veil of how much the Nelson Muguku Trustees Limited makes in a child upkeep battle.

In her case, filed before Justice Chacha Mwita, Nyanchama stated that she allegedly met Njuru in the United States of America sometime in January 2014 and had two children.

She claimed that Njuru persuaded her to move to Kenya with the promise that her needs and those of their children would be taken care of under the family trust created by Muguku.

"The first respondent (Njuru) made a promise that he would build a house for the family on a piece of land that had been allocated to him under the family trust," she says in her court papers.

Convinced, the woman and her husband came to Kenya in August 2015, and they moved into a house in Mountain View Estate, allegedly registered under the trust. According to her, the house was supposed to be a temporary arrangement.

Two years into the marriage, she further states, the marriage hit the rocks, after which Njuru allegedly moved out of the matrimonial home.

"During the subsistence of the marriage, the first respondent catered largely for the needs of the minors. This included providing the accommodation at the house registered under the family trust, providing credit card with cash of Sh100,000 for catering for the costs of the minors' nanny, driver, food, piano lessons and entertainment," she reveals.

Monthly contributions

The couple ended up divorcing in a case filed in 2021 and subsequently, a child maintenance case followed.

Nyanchama states that following judgments in both the divorce and maintenance cases, the family trust's lawyer wrote to Njuru informing him about its operationalisation and further asked him to give information about their children's provision in the trust.

"The first respondent filed an affidavit of means dated October 17, 2024 to which he confirms that he is a recipient of monthly contributions from the Family Trust confirming that such amounts are not erratic but remitted monthly. The monies are largely remitted by the seventh respondent (trust)," noted Nyanchama.

She further states that the court directed Njuru to provide 50 per cent school fees for the two minors. According to her, the orders have not been significantly complied with and school fees arrears now stand at Sh1.4 million.

Nyanchama told the court, together with her children was directed to continue living in the Mountain View house up until an alternative accommodation was provided. However, she alleges that there have been attempts to kick them out, and Njuru is at the heart of the alleged eviction.

The woman said that she applied to attach her father in-law's accounts as order by the court on August 8 this year. At the same time, there is allegedly a contempt application against her ex-husband.

The mother of two argued that Njuru requires access to the money left in the trust in order to take care of his children.

According to her, she does not want to enforce the orders issued by the magistrate's court, but instead is seeking disclosure of the amounts held in the trust for the sake of their children's welfare.

Nyanchama claims that Njunu has repeatedly told the court that he has no means to take care of the children. Nevertheless, she is of the view that her ex-husband receives huge amounts of money from his mother who is a trustee.

"The first respondent has reiterated that he has no financial means to support the minors. However, he is the recipient of colossal sums from the seventh respondent who is the Trustee of the Nelson Muguku Family Trust and the director of the eighth respondent," she alleges.

"The respondents, have through their advocates confirmed that the Nelson Muguku Family Trust is fully operational and hence there should be no difficulty in disclosing the details of the Trust and any provisions made for the minors as well as the grandchildren of the late Muguku. The disclosure therefore, shall ensure equality," she adds.

In her case, she attached correspondence between the lawyers and the children maintenance case.

The first letter, addressed by lawyer Musyoki Kioko, Njuru was directed to surrender the house to the trust for management and benefit to all the beneficiaries. This was on August 20, 2023.

Rental payment

Another letter, written by Nyanchama's lawyer, Ochieng' Oduol asked the trust lawyers to give information regarding how much Njuru's children were offered, as their father allegedly gave a guarantee that they would be provided for.

"In light of the challenges that the minors are facing and considering their best interests, we firmly believe that the details of the Trust Deed and extent of financial provision for the minors ought to be disclosed to our client," wrote Ochieng'.

In an affidavit of means, also before the court, Njuru disclosed that he is a medical doctor. He also indicated that he is one of the directors of the Waterfront Clinic, which is located in Karen, Nairobi.

He stated that 20 per cent of his income is used to pay rent, while Sh150,000 is allegedly used towards food, entertainment and business-related expenses. He claimed he is self-employed. "I do not cohabit with the defendant. I moved out of our common abode and are now divorced. Therefore, a further 20 per cent of my income goes towards rental payment. The rent at my current residence is Sh70,000 per month," he told court.

Njuru also claims that he spends Sh750,000 per term on school fees and that he is now fighting to make ends meet. In addition, the medic alleged that he pays Sh300,000 per year to cater for their medical cover, Sh50,000 for car maintenance and Sh85,000 for a car insurance.

"I have been struggling to meet these expenses after depleting my savings that I earned when previously employed in the United States," he argues, adding that the school where the two minors are schooling is highly unsustainable.

Broke man

He has projected himself as a broke man without any savings whatsoever as a result of having to pay for the high cost of school fees at the minors' current school, a situation that is worrying him since the minors will require school fees for high school and university.

Njunu, in his affidavit dated October 17, 2024, further claims that Muguku Trust had a loan with the Co-operative Bank of Kenya, which they had been servicing. According to him, the salaries that were being paid to the directors were halted to salvage the situation. In the children's maintenance case filed in 2022, Njunu accused Nyanchama of ignoring his request to transfer the minors to another school.

He claimed that the house was not matrimonial, in which Nyanchama and the minors needed to move out. Njunu argued that if Nyanchama was to continue living in the house, then she needed to pay the trust Sh100,000 every month.

On the other hand, Nyanchama argued that the house was their joint family residence and the issue of the trust was an afterthought. She asserted that their living in the house was on the basis that they would have suitable housing. According to her, Njuru indicated that he would only provide Sh30,000 for rent, were she to move out.

On education of the children, the woman maintains that there is no evidence to show that Njuru could not afford the school they were attending. She accuses him of not providing part of his contribution towards their school-related expenses.

She claimed that Njuru's personal bank statement from Equity Bank is a testimony that he lives a lifestyle of excess, marked by large purchases of liquor, food and frequent visits to high-end entertainment venues.

According to her, the man receives a significant amount of monthly payments from either his mother or from the Crossroads Mall Limited. She asserts that his lifestyle does not reflect a man in financial hardship.

After hearing the counter-claims, Magistrate Bernard Ochoi said that there was no reason to transfer the minors from the school. He directed that both Nyanchama and Njuru ought to continue paying 50 per cent of the fees.

"The court finds that the plaintiff (Njuru) has not discharged the burden of demonstrating an inability to meet the school fees and related obligations and unilaterally withdrawing the children from the current school would not be in their best interest. The children have just witnessed the separation of the parents and following it with change of schools at this moment will be more heartbreaking. It is noted that since 2024, the defendant offered and has been contributing half the school fees thus lightening the plaintiff's obligation," he said.

In addition, the magistrate said that the minors and their mother had lived in the house since relocating from the US. He observed that the reason to have them out appeared to be after separation and divorce.

"The court considers the house to have been the matrimonial home during the subsistence of the marriage and in the best interests of the children, the minors shall continue to reside in the said house, and the defendant shall reside with them. No rent shall be payable to the family trust for the continued occupation of the residence until the plaintiff's share or interest in the family trust has been disclosed or until suitable alternative housing arrangements, acceptable to both parties are found," ruled Ochoi.

The magistrate in his verdict on April 25 this year also directed that Njuru refunds Nyanchama Sh505,700, which was a balance of the school fees, music lesson costs, tennis costs, creative and scouting classes.

He, however, declined to order him to foot rent, nanny, driver, fresh produce, gymnastic lessons, tennis, swimming practice, piano classes and provide a credit card with Sh100,000 for food, clothing and fuel and entertainment bills after finding that they could be individually sorted when the minors were either with Nyanchama or Njuru while other requirements were part of schooling costs.

In the meantime, Justice Mwita directed that Muguku's family should respond to the case within 14 days, after which Nyanchama will file her further response. The case will be heard on February 17, 2026.

Muguku, a legendary chicken farmer made his wealth from selling eggs to the Kenya colony's last governor Malcolm MacDonald.