The family of former Minister Njenga Karume will sell 17 per cent of its Sh17.5 billion estate, in a decison to accept mediation and end court battles.
His children want to raise Sh2.975 billion to pay debts after the Karume estate ran out of liquid cash.
“The estate is rich in properties, but it does not have the liquid money,” spokesperson Stephen Karau said yesterday.
The estate owes the Kenya Revenue Authority Sh350 million and other creditors Sh2.62 billion.
The properties earmarked for sale include Village Inn Hotel, 25 acres in Elementaita and Kacheliba Tea Estate.
“The decision to settle outstanding bills is part of the deal we signed in May this year binding us to a mediation process. This has led to the formation of the mediation council for the Njenga Karume estate,” Karume’s daughter Jane Mukuhi told reporters.
The family, the trustee and executors were addressing journalists at a Nairobi hotel after they announced they will settle the family battles out of court.
“The mediation council comprises the 10 generic families of Njenga, the trustees and executors,” Karume’s grandson, Matu Njenga, said.
The estate has been the subject of bitter wars between the trustees that Karume appointed before his death in 2012 and his children.
The trustees are George Warieri, Kung’u Gatabaki and Margaret Nduta, whom his children wanted replaced for allegedly mismanaging it.
“We asked if President Uhuru Kenyatta and Nasa leader Raila Odinga shook hands, why can’t we follow in their footsteps so that we can agree as a family,” Jane said.
The mediation council has become the supreme decision-making organ for the estate.
"This is a major development that will enable the vast estate to be restored and its huge potential unlocked so it can serve those for whom it was intended,” Karau said.
The family said it has frozen all court processes.
"We believe in the next three months, we will have an agreement on how to run the business and triple it the way my dad wanted. He told us he wanted us to triple the business in five years," Jane, who spoke on behalf of the family, said.
The family members said they are not interested in the past but will focus on solutions to put the properties back on track.
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