Two children of former powerful Moi-era Minister John Joseph Kamotho have been declared bankrupt despite laying claim to their late father’s wealth, adding a new twist to a long-running family feud over the inheritance of the late politician’s Sh250 million fortune.
Marianne Nyokabi Kamotho and David Waweru Kamotho have been placed under bankruptcy proceedings after failing to settle a combined Sh4.83 million owed to lawyer Paul Maingi Musyimi, who represented them in various legal matters.
Court records show that Ms Nyokabi and Mr Waweru owed Mr Musyimi Sh3,738,997 and Sh1,094,763, respectively.
The advocate served the two with statutory demands requiring them to settle the debts. A statutory demand is a formal notice allowing a debtor to pay or challenge a debt before a creditor moves to court for a bankruptcy order. The two did not comply with the demands, prompting Mr Musyimi to petition the High Court to have them declared bankrupt.
Under Section 17 of the Insolvency Act, a debtor is presumed unable to pay a debt if they fail to comply with a statutory demand after it has been properly served.
The law gives the debtor 21 days to pay, secure, or otherwise deal with the demand before a creditor can proceed with a bankruptcy application.
The High Court subsequently made a bankruptcy order against Mr Waweru on November 18, 2025, with the Official Receiver, Mark Gakuru, appointed as the trustee of his estate. A similar order was issued against Ms Nyokabi on January 30, 2026.
The appointments mean the two no longer have unrestricted control over property that forms part of their bankruptcy estates.
Under the Insolvency Act, property of a bankrupt person generally vests in the bankruptcy trustee, who is responsible for administering it for the benefit of creditors.
The Kenya Gazette Notice published on August 28, 2026 said Mr Gakuru had been appointed trustee of Mr Waweru’s estate by the court, subject to confirmation by creditors or substitution of another trustee. The notice also set out the procedure for opposing the discharge of the bankrupt.
Mr Waweru is due for automatic discharge on November 17, 2028, while Ms Nyokabi’s discharge is due on January 29, 2029, unless the discharge is opposed.
“Any creditor who intends to oppose the discharge of the bankrupt shall state in writing the grounds for his/her opposition and send a notice to this effect to the Official Receiver, the trustee of the estate of the bankrupt and the bankrupt,” Mr Gakuru said in the Gazette notice.
The bankruptcy orders have complicated the siblings’ claim to their share of their father’s property, which is still the subject of a long-running succession dispute. The two had argued in court that they were beneficiaries of the estate of the late politician and that their expected inheritance demonstrated that they had the financial means to settle the debts.
The court, however, rejected the argument, finding that an expected inheritance did not amount to immediately available wealth.
In Ms Nyokabi’s case, the court noted that a certificate of confirmation of grant did not by itself transfer ownership of the properties listed in it to her.
The judge said there was no evidence that the properties had been transmitted to Ms Nyokabi and that, until transmission, they remained part of her father’s estate rather than her personal assets. Even if transmission took place, the court noted, the properties could be subject to existing charges or competing claims, making them unavailable for immediate settlement of the debt.
The court therefore found her reliance on the inheritance as evidence of financial capacity to be speculative.
Mr Waweru similarly argued that he was a beneficiary of his father’s estate and that proceeds from his expected inheritance would provide resources to settle the debt. The court was not persuaded, with the bankruptcy proceedings going against him.
Being declared bankrupt does not mean that a person is stripped of every possession or prevented from earning an income.
However, an undischarged bankrupt cannot, without the consent of the trustee or court, enter into, carry on or participate in the management or control of a business, and property forming part of the bankruptcy estate comes under the trustee’s control. The law also restricts obtaining substantial credit and acting as a company director or partner.
In Ms Nyokabi’s case, the bankruptcy has an additional professional consequence because she is an advocate of the High Court. The Advocates Act provides that adjudication in bankruptcy immediately suspends an advocate’s practising certificate.
The Law Society of Kenya regulations also provide for the appointment of an administrator to run a sole practitioner’s law firm where the advocate is adjudged bankrupt.
The next stage will involve the two disclosing their financial position through statements of affairs, setting out their assets and liabilities, allowing the trustee to establish what property is available to creditors and whether any assets are secured.
Where an asset is subject to a charge, the rights of the secured creditor have to be considered before any surplus can be dealt with in the bankruptcy.
The trustee will therefore have to establish the nature and value of the assets and the interests of secured and unsecured creditors before determining how they can be realised.
The bankruptcy orders have therefore put the siblings’ expected inheritance in a precarious position.
Any property that eventually becomes part of their personal estates and is available for realisation may have to be used to meet claims against them before they can benefit from the proceeds.
The bankruptcy saga comes against the backdrop of a bitter succession dispute that has divided the Kamotho family since the former minister died.
Mr Kamotho died on December 6, 2014, at a hospital in South Africa without leaving a written Will. He was survived by his widow, Eunice Wambui Kamotho, and four children—Charles Githii Kamotho, James Mwai Kamotho, Marianne Nyokabi and David Waweru.
The family has been unable to agree on how to distribute his multimillion-shilling wealth, prompting prolonged court proceedings.
At some point, Ms Wambui had sought letters to administer the estate, but Ms Nyokabi and Mr Waweru objected, with the succession case having been pending in court since 2017.
The dispute also spilled into a fight over a Sh82 million Nairobi house. Ms Wambui was allowed to sell the Jadenville Country Homes property to raise money for her upkeep and medical expenses, but Ms Nyokabi and Mr Waweru opposed the sale, arguing that she received substantial rental income and a government pension.
The court eventually allowed the sale and directed that half of the proceeds be shared equally among the four children, with the other half going to their mother.
The family feud later escalated when Mr Githii was charged over allegations that he forged a medical report claiming that Ms Nyokabi was of unsound mind and therefore unsuitable to administer the estate. Mr Githii denied the charges.
The property left by Mr Kamotho included five parcels of land at Gacharage in Murang’a, land in Kakuzi, a house at Jadenville Country Homes and the matrimonial home in Kitisuru, Nairobi.
He also held shares in Safaricom, KenGen, Britam, Barclays and Sameer Africa, as well as a bank account at Standard Bank. The family’s failure to agree on distribution has kept the wealth tied up in succession proceedings for years.
