The Supreme Court has dismissed an application which would have declared that former Cabinet Minister Mbiyu Koinange had two wives and their families would be the sole beneficiaries of his vast wealth.
Margaret Njeri and Eddah Wanjiru had been sidelined by the High Court when it ruled that Mbiyu had only two wives.
The Court of Appeal, however, included the two other widows as rightful beneficiaries of the multi-billion estate.
George Kihara, a son of the deceased, had requested the Maraga-led court to make a declaration on the inclusion of Margaret and Eddah.
The Supreme Court rubber-stamped the Court of Appeal's ruling, saying that the latter had applied the law correctly.
“In the circumstances, we are unable to find any issue of general public importance in Mr. Kihara's intended appeal to warrant a review of the appellate court’s decision,” read the ruling.
The judges added that because the matter was a family dispute, all parties would bear their own costs.
Koinange, who was a close confidant of former president Jomo Kenyatta, had amassed a fortune that included a Ksh2 billion undeveloped piece of land in Nairobi CBD, shares in Magadi Soda, BAT, Centum, and Limuru Dairy.
He also had interests in the hospitality industry among them Oceans View Beach Hotel and Oceanic Hotel in Mombasa.
The matter had dragged in court for over 30 years.
