The family of the powerful late minister Njenga Karume has resulted to auction their property over Ksh 2.975 billion debt.
The family decided to sell 17 percent stake of their late father's Sh17.5 billion property to pay a debt owed to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and other creditors.
Ksh 350 million is owed to the revenue body and Ksh 2.62 billion to creditors.
Among the property reserved for sale include Village Inn hotel, 25 acres of Land in Elementaita and Kacheliba tea estate.
“The estate is rich in properties but it does not have the liquid money,” the spokesperson Stephen Karau mentioned.
Announcing the decision at Nairobi, the family also stated that they would solve their internal wrangles outside the court.
"The decision to settle outstanding bills is part of the deal we signed in May this year binding us to a mediation process. This has led to the formation of the mediation council for the estate,” Karume’s daughter stated.
The mediation council comprises of the ten generic families of Njenga, the trustees and will executors.
The estate has been the subject of conflict between the trustees Karume appointed before his death in 2012 and his children.
The family had previously replaced the trustees claiming they mismanaged the property.
The trustees had earmarked the iconic Village Inn and the 11 parcels totalling 111.24 acres of the Kacharoba Farmland for sale without the kins’ knowledge.
They have, however, solved the conflict and agreed to work together.
“This is a major development that will see the vast estate restored and its huge potential unlocked so that it can serve those it was intended,” Karau remarked.
