Out-of-court deal in former President Mwai Kibaki case flops

Nyeri, Kenya: A property dispute in which retired President Mwai Kibaki is one of the parties will proceed to full trial after an out-of-court settlement hit a snag.

The dispute is pitting property firm Mathingira Wholesalers against six respondents, including Kibaki and his older brother Samuel Githinji Kibaki.

Senior Counsel Gibson Kamau Kuria, for Kibaki and the other respondents, told a Nyeri court, “We tried but did not succeed.”

But lawyer Lucy Mwai for Mathingira told the court that the respondents allegedly interpreted the call for an out-of-court dialogue to mean withdrawal of the suit.

A Laikipia-based farmer told the court the impetus of the case was to transfer ownership of the contentious building in Nyeri town to shareholders of Mathingira Wholesalers.

The court heard the building was purchased by Mathingira Wholesalers whose founding members were the former President, his brother and Othaya natives Kiiru Gachinga, the late Gadson Gitonga and Kibera Gatu.

But James Kanyi, a shareholder, told the court that some of the company founders had since sold their shares. The case continues Wednesday.