THREE children of former Cabinet minister Njenga Karume have said "close relatives" in the Njenga Karume Trust are planning to take away their father's property.
The late Karume appointed NKT to manage his multibillion-shilling property on behalf of the family before he died on February 24, 2012.
Lucy Karume, Jane Mukuhi and Samuel Wanjema said the financial crisis the Trust faces has been stage managed.
Speaking to the Star at Jacaranda hotel in Nairobi on Wednesday, the three said they were surprised by the Trust that the property had Sh680million debt.
They said the late Karume had cleared all his debts and had a surplus of Sh280 million. “The scramble for our our father’s wealth started long before he died," Lucy said.
"Immediately he died, the Trust sold a rental house in South C, a plot in Kiambu and another in Limuru at a total cost of Sh96million, completely against our will," Lucy said.
She said the Trust was set up "for the welfare of the beneficiaries and not to enrich themselves”.
Wanjema said the Trust shut down Indian Ocean Beach Club at the Coast in September 2012 and borrowed Sh400million from GT-Bank to renovate it "against our advice".
He said NKT has sacked the employees loyal to the family and hired new ones at higher salaries.
“At the time our father died, the payroll of all the Jacaranda staff was Sh 9million. Today, the payroll is Sh15million,” Wanjema said.
Jane Karume said the Trust has since reduced the money for educating the beneficiaries by more than a half. She said they want to replace the current board of trustees, chaired by Karume's brother in-law.
They also want to hire auditors to conduct a forensic audit of all books of account since the Trust took over the management of the property.