Late Nakuru Tycoon awarded his driver with Sh1 Billion Estate Asset

The family of the late Nakuru Mayor, Joseck Thuo Ngeta, is embroiled in a fierce dispute over his Sh1 billion estate.

Mr. Thuo passed away at Mater Hospital on December 27, 2021, at the age of 88.

However, his first wife and some of his children have opposed the will, claiming that it may have been altered to deprive them of a portion of their inheritance.

His driver, Robert Kavisu, who had kept the inheritance documents, accused his son, Geoffrey Ngeta (from the second wife), of changing the documents after his father’s death.

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Kavisu, who had been entrusted with safeguarding the documents as instructed by Mr. Thuo, revealed in Nakuru Court that his boss had emphasized the need to keep them safe, and three days after his death, he was to give them to Nixon Kariuki (his son from the first wife).

However, Kavisu claims that Ngeta changed the documents and placed them elsewhere in a car he had instructed him to park.

The documents presented in court as evidence showed that it was the driver who had been entrusted to protect the inheritance.

Mr. Thuo owned two cars; a Land Cruiser V8 and a Mercedes Benz.

Kavisu told the court that he had known Mr. Thuo in 2007 when he worked for him at the construction site of Abey Resort, and he was promoted to his driver in 2020.

“It was at that time that he handed me the document and made me read it aloud three times. That’s when I realized it was his will, and he used to place it in the newspaper regularly,” Kavisu said.

In the disputed will, Mr. Thuo divided his property among his two wives and children.

Among the properties are the Abbey Building in Nairobi, pieces of land in Nakuru, Gilgil, Murang’a, and Nairobi, as well as the Abbey Hotel in Nakuru.

Kavisu said he had to reveal Mr. Thuo’s position on the inheritance after learning that there was a property dispute in the family.

Initially, he suspected that things had gone awry after Mr. Ngeta approached him and asked him to lean in their favor regarding the property dispute.

However, he declined and revealed the truth about his relationship with the late mayor regarding the document.

He also explained how he was instructed to give the document to Nixon Kariuki after his father’s death.

An investigation into the will document presented in court revealed it to be fake.

Emmanuel Karisa Kenga, who conducted the professional investigation, said that the handwriting and signature did not match.

“The handwriting does not match, which is a sign that there was more than one writer. There is evidence that the inheritance will was tampered with and is not a genuine document or original copy,” Kenga said.