NAIROBI: Three children of the late politician Njenga Karume now want the trustees to their father's estate committed to civil jail for disobeying court orders.
Lucy Wanjiru, Albert Kigera and Samuel Wanjema asked the court to cite the trustees for contempt for disobeying court orders that directed them to preserve their father's assets, pending the hearing and determination of the matter.
High Court Judge Alfred Mabeya will this morning deliver a ruling on whether to handle the contempt application or issue orders reversing the halting of construction at Pizza Inn, one of the disputed properties.
The three filed the contempt application arguing the trustees are abusing the court's integrity.
"The properties are not being protected as ordered by the court. The interference of the assets took place three days after the order was issued," the three told the court through Lawyer Cecil Miller.
They urged Justice Mabeya to allow them to argue the contempt proceedings first as there will be no prejudice suffered to defendants and interested parties.
On the other hand, lawyers George Oraro, Waweru Gatonye, Kamau Karori and Tom Machari separately told the court the trustees were not in contempt as claimed by Karume's children.
The trustees argued that Karume chose to entrust the management of his multi-billion-shilling estate to a trust rather than his children.
Karume died three years ago and left assets ranging from huge tracts of land in prime locations, hotels, housing estates and shareholding in some of the country's blue chip listed and privately-owned companies.
Njenga had left his sister, Nduta Kimithi, and businessmen, Kung'u Gatabaki, Henry Waireri Karume and George Ngugi Waireri as the managers of the Trust.
Since then, the three children have been in a tussle with the trustees over the management of their father's property.
"We want our father's estate to be run professionally like the Chandaria and Ford foundations. We want professionals to be hired to hold the trust. We want a trust that communicates with the beneficiaries and that are purely professionals. Let the current board step aside and allow us to appoint a new team," Wanjiru said.
She added that her father's hotel in Mombasa and two restaurants were being destroyed without their knowledge, an allegation denied by lawyer Kamau Karori, whose firm is representing the executors of Karume's will.
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