The two widows of spy chief James Kanyotu and other beneficiaries of his estate — estimated at over Sh20 billion — have sacked their lawyers and closed ranks to end their long-running dispute over how to share his vast wealth.
In a statement read by the elder of his two widows, Mrs Mary Kanyotu, the family accused the lawyers of dragging the succession case in court for over 17 years, frustrating attempts by the beneficiaries to amicably resolve the row over how to share out his wealth.
“We as a family have come together to amicably settle this matter and put the 17 years of litigation behind us,” said the elderly Mrs Kanyotu, who was flanked by his co-wife, Mrs Jane Kanyotu, in a video shared on Tiktok on Tuesday. “We have decided to put our differences aside and settle the long-standing estate dispute”.
Kanyotu, who died in 2008, was independent Kenya’s second head of the Directorate of Security Intelligence, which was later renamed the National Security Intelligence Service (NSIS) and is now known as the National Intelligence Service (NIS).
He succeeded Bernard Hinga in 1965, two years after independence and remained at the helm for 27 years, serving under presidents Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel arap Moi until he retired in 1992.
Under President Moi, he was linked to the Goldenberg Scandal in which the government lost over Sh158 billion through fictitious exports of gold. Kanyotu owned one per cent of Goldenberg International and was listed as a director in the company associated with businessman Kamlesh Pattni and which was at the centre of the fraudulent payments that were disguised as export compensation.
At the time, the amount lost was equivalent to about 10 per cent of Kenya national wealth — known in economics as annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Among his better-known properties are the 13-bedroom Sovereign Suites and Spa, a five-star establishment on Limuru Road, which served as Kanyotu’s home before it was converted into a hotel and high-end social events venue after his death.
He also had shares in among other companies, Sameer Group, the tyre firm founded by Naushad Merali and Kangaita Coffee Estate. He also owned large swathes of prime land worth billions of shillings, including in the Rift Valley and Mt Kenya region.
According to his family, the lawyers hired by various litigants in the succession row had connived to sell off property worth about Sh2 billion, money which the family claimed not to have benefited from.
“We have asked for statements of account for the estate from our various advocates but unfortunately and unprofessionally, they have not obliged,” Mrs Kanyotu said in a frail voice.
She accused the lawyers of demanding hefty bills as advocate fees running into hundreds of millions of shillings.
“A number of properties belonging to James Kanyotu have been sold, amounting to more than Sh2 billion but the family has only received a measly amount,” she said even as she declined to name the lawyers whom the family accuses of conniving to defraud them and Kanyotu’s estate.
According to the family, the lawyers involved had declined to reach an amicable resolution to the success dispute despite the family having closed ranks after 18 years in the corridors of justice.
“We have, therefore, decided to unite as a family to enable us fire all the fraudulent advocates and appoint one advocate to represent all of us,” Mrs Kanyotu said even as she urged the dismissed lawyers to release to the family all the monies owed to the Kanyotu estate.
At the time of his death, Kanyotu had four children and one acknowledged wife. However, upon his death, three other women claimed to have had relations with him and each claimed to have borne a child each with him. He died without having written his will, a move that sparked numerous succession battles.
According to some estimates, succession disputes involving families of prominent Kenyan personalities had tied up in excess of Sh500 billion by 2023, rendering the cash and assets idle.
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