Michael Nyachae, son of the late cabinet minister Simeon Nyachae with his estranged third wife Martha Mwango, is reportedly using his mother’s health as a bargaining chip for control of his late father’s estate.
The 59-year old business executive filed a frivolous suit in an effort to derail court progress on the call for the family to proceed to arbitration.
With his incapacitated mother out of the way, Michael has been commandeering his mother’s lawyers, to frustrate efforts to resolve the succession dispute that has been going on since October 2022.
Just days after he admitted his mother at the Aga Khan University Hospital, he rushed to court to file a suit asking the court to interpret a ruling it had issued the previous day.
Through documents filled in court, Michael who also serves as Chairman of Kenya Development Corporation, is using his elderly and ailing mother as bait and back door for control of family businesses.
Michael relocated his mother from her peaceful Kisii village to an apartment in Nairobi, hiring a team of medics to attend to her as he carries out his plot to derail the resolutions.
Nyachae family owns Sansora Group Ltd, Sansora Ltd, Simbi Sansora Bakery Ltd, Kabansora Ltd, Sansora Oil Mills Ltd, and Credit Bank Limited.
Sansora Group employs hundreds of workers and these latest antics by Michael put at risk the running of the companies and subsequently upsets the livelihood of the employees.
Mwango’s case now draws yet another battle as her firstborn son, the East Africa Court of Justice judge Charles Nyachae filed another one before Family Court judge Eric Ogola seeking to bar Wamuyu and Nyandusi from managing the family business.
On September 9, 2015, Nyachae, who served in the governments of presidents Jomo Kenyatta, Daniel Moi, and Mwai Kibaki, laid out his plans for the distribution of his wealth after his passing.
The former Ford-People leader bequeathed each of his widows Sh1 million, granting them a membership to the millionaire’s club.
However, Wamuyu received an additional Sh1 million for her exceptional support and dedication in managing and running his business and health affairs.
Each of his sons and daughters received Sh500,000.
According to his will, his sons or daughters predeceased him, and their share of the wealth would pass to their respective mothers.
If the mother had already passed, it would be inherited by their children.
In his will, Nyachae identified three wives: Nyaboke, Mwango, and Wamuyu.
He listed Charles, Kenneth, Michael, Joseph, Noah, and Esther as Mwango’s children.
Nyaboke’s children were Samuel, Rosemary, Angela, Janice, and Jackline, while Wamuyu’s were Eric, Leon, Lee, and Pauline.
He also acknowledged another daughter, Mary, born to Drusilla Kemunto.
In a new development, the family will now settle its dispute over control of his vast estate before
mediators.
This is after the Commercial Court directed Nyachae’s two widows and Michael to engage in talks in order to settle the dispute filed before him.
Mwango, Nyachae’s first wife, filed the case against her co-widow Grace Wamuyu, and her stepson Leon Nyandusi seeking to block them from managing the family companies.
Mwango also sought orders to freeze the bank accounts of the companies.
However, Justice Chacha Mwita directed that Wamuyu and Nyandusi should continue holding their positions in the family companies, but involve Mwango.
But before the talks could begin, Mwango’s son Michael sought to have the signatories restructured to include him.
He demanded the changes as a representative of his mother.
However, his brother informed him that the court orders meant involvement and not altering or changing signatories to the accounts.
Mwango was seeking orders to bar her co-wife and stepson from operating bank accounts of all family companies.
Mwango’s lawyer Christopher Orina had listed Nyachae’s companies Sansora Group Ltd, Sansora Ltd, Simbi Investors Ltd,
Sansora Investments Ltd, Kabansora Ltd, Sansora Bakery Ltd, and Sansora Oil Mills Ltd as interested parties.
He also urged Justice Mwita to bar
Nyandusi from running the seven companies as a director or a managing director.
“The first and second respondent (Wamuyu and Nyandusi) be restrained from all bank accounts held by them that belong to any interested party herein and further, the honor-able court restraints the second defendant from holding himself out as a director or a managing director of any interested party herein,” Orina argued.
In another prayer, Mwango wanted the court to order her and Wamuyu to hold a general meeting to nominate new signatories to all bank accounts of the family’s businesses, noting they are the only surviving widows of Nyachae.
She claimed that Nyachae, who served as energy, finance, and agriculture minister, solely ran his companies and was the only signatory to all of the companies bank accounts.
Mwango said her co-wife and stepson have remained in charge of the companies yet Nyachae appointed executors.
The senior Nyachae appointed Charles, Eric Nyachae, and Angela Nyachae, as administrators.
The court allowed the trio to run the state on May 9, 2022.
Although Mwango claimed Nyachae was running the companies alone, in the succession case Wamuyu and Nyandusi told the court that during Nyachae’s lifetime, they were running his business affairs under the Sansora Group and Kabansora.
Nyandusi, who filed a response on behalf of his mother, stated that Sansora acted as an agent, managing the deceased’s properties since December 1, 2015.
He said all the properties have since been bequeathed to various beneficiaries.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the company does not manage any of the deceased’s residuary estate,” said Leon adding that he, alongside his mother, has been acting strictly as the director of the company and not in an individual capacity.
The two also stated that after Nyachae died, they held a meeting with the executors and it was agreed that Sansora would continue managing the properties until they are distributed.