Court rejects suspension of distribution of Keen’s 13 billion schillings estate

Two children and a granddaughter of the late politician John Keen have failed in their attempt to suspend the distribution of his billion-dollar estate.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the application of Victoria Naishorua Keen and Eva Sein Keen, the daughters and a granddaughter of the former deputy minister, to stay the ongoing inheritance proceedings pending the determination of their appeal.

The three went to court after Justice Aggrey Muchelule (now an Appeal Judge) dismissed their applications for various orders relating to the estate, which is estimated to be worth Sh13 billion.

Mr. Keen, who died on December 25, 2016, was married to four women and had more than 30 beneficiaries.

The three argued that their late father had neglected to give the house to his first wife, Gladwell Wairimu Keen, in his will.

They wanted the court to intervene and redistribute the estate justly, equitably and fairly among all beneficiaries.

Pamela Soila Keen and Rosemary Sanau Keen – the executors and other beneficiaries of the estate – opposed all requests.

After hearing the applications, Justice Muchelule ruled that the validity of the will had not been challenged and that the court could only intervene under Section 5 of the Inheritance Act if it was proven that the deceased politician had failed to make adequate provision for his dependents.

“Overall, we are not convinced that the applicants have presented us with serious arguments worthy of full consideration on appeal. But even if we were so charitable as to find the intended appeal to be arguable, we would dismiss this application as we have not been able to convince the court that the intended appeal would be ineffective if successful,” said Justices Kathurima M’Inoti, Mumbi Ngugi and Lydia Achode.

The judges said it was a little disingenuous to claim that their mother, Gladwell, had not been cared for when the records clearly show that she had been cared for.

The appeal judges added that grandchildren are not direct beneficiaries of a deceased person and that their provision depends on proof that they were supported by their grandfather before his death.

Mr Keen, a polygamist, had four wives: the first, Gladwell, bore him six children, while the second, Mary Njeri Keen, had five. The third wife, Rosemary Sanau Keen, had two children and the last wife, Jane Wamuyu Keen, had one child.

Before his death, Mr Keen left property in all four houses to his relatives, which was recorded in his will. His two children – Victoria Naishorua and Eva Sein – have now filed another action in the Family Court. The documents show that they want the court to rule that children can sue on behalf of a parent to claim their share of the marital assets.

The two daughters said that part of the properties had to be declared marital property because they had been acquired jointly by their father and mother during their marriage from December 21, 1957.

Some of the properties were registered in the name of Keen or his companies J. Keen Investments Limited and Rossen Gardens Limited.

In his judgment last year, Justice Muchelule found that there was no wife, child or grandchild who was not included in the will.

The judge said that although Mr Keen had indicated that he was not obliged to care for his grandchildren, he had cared for them of his own free will.

In one of the clauses in the will, Mr Keen had asked the trustees to pay for the education of the grandchildren and to provide money to those over 21 who were not in school to help them get ahead in life.