The family members are fighting over the administration of a Sh600 million estate.
Three children of the firebrand lawmaker have sued their four mothers in a bruising succession battle.
Ms Florence Nduta, Mr Anthony Kihika and Ms Judy Muthoni want to replace their mothers — Margaret Wambui, Alice Mukuhi, Mary Wangari and Miriam Warau — as administrators of the estate.
In the case filed in 2018, the three argue that their mothers are old and can no longer take care of the property.
Widows of Nakuru businessman Washington Olweny are also fighting over a Sh200 million estate.
Days after Olweny's death in December 2016, his three wives moved to court over the inheritance of his estate.
Besides Evans Sunrise Hospital in Nakuru town, Olweny owned property in Nakuru, Kisumu and Nairobi.
Olweny's second and third wives Norah Olweny and Anna Wanjiru claimed they were married to him under Luo traditions.
They obtained orders restraining the first wife, Phelesiah Olweny and her sons Edwin Olweny and Timothy Olweny, from removing the body from Lee Funeral Home in Nairobi until their application was heard and determined.
Even after the tycoon was quietly buried at his rural home in Ukwala, Siaya County, the succession battle has been raging since 2017, with his son Allan Onyango seeking to lock out his two step-mothers from the family's estate.
Last year, Mr Onyango claimed in court that Ms Atieno and Ms Wanjiru were not married to his father. The two women are the objectors in the succession case filed by Ms Akoth, Mr Onyango’s mother.
Mr Onyango, who was enjoined in the case as an interested party, claims Ms Atieno and Ms Wanjiru were misleading the court to benefit from property to which they are not entitled.
"Ms Wanjiru was only a mistress of the deceased and not his wife as recorded in court documents," he argues.
Mr Onyango told the court the two women had no capacity to get married to his father since they were still in other marriages at the time they claimed to have met him.
Recently, Ms Wanjiru told a Nakuru court that the tycoon wanted his three wives to co-exist harmoniously.
"My husband always wanted us to live harmoniously. He once gathered us, the wives, and his extended family at Akoth's house and pleaded with us to live as a family," she told Justice Teresia Matheka.
Last month, Ms Atieno withdrew a consent she signed to undergo a DNA test alongside her son, which was to prove that she had a son with the late tycoon.
In an application dated January 6 and filed at the High Court in Nakuru, Ms Atieno is fighting her Ms Akoth and Ms Wanjiru for control of Olweny’s estate.
Family members of the late Nakuru politician Philip Kamau have also been fighting for his Sh1 billion estate, since he died on May 1, 2012.
He served as a prisons officer in the 1960s, a councillor between 1969 and 1974, and a nominated MP between 1974 and 1979.
Kamau’s widows Teresia Njeri, Margaret Damat and Lucy Wanjiru have teamed up with their stepson, Joseph Njuguna, as they seek to take control of the estate.
The four have ganged up against Mr Njuguna’s sister Elizabeth Wanjiku. Mr Njuguna and Ms Wanjiku are the children of Kamau’s first wife Alice Kahaki, a businesswoman who died on August 25, 1983.
Prime Properties
In a will filed in court, the late politician owned the famous Pinkam and Molo Houses at the heart of Nakuru City, business premises, movable and immovable properties, a funeral home, a slaughterhouse and prime plots.
He also owned residential homes, shops and other enterprises. He also had savings in banks, shares in Mwariki and Kiamunyi Farm Ltd, Embakasi Ranching Ltd and Mang’u Enterprise Ltd.
The other court battle revolves around the estate of British settler Crawford, who died a bachelor in 2014.
When he arrived in Kenya around 1950, Crawford settled in Mwariki, Nakuru County, where he practised horticulture and kept pets, including dogs and donkeys.
He made vast sums of money through farming and other business ventures.
He also established multimillion-shilling milk businesses, a number of petrol stations and other enterprises, including Blue Cross Kennels.
Crawford was attacked and seriously injured by robbers in 2008. Doctors said he developed Parkinson's disease, which led to loss of memory, a condition that lasted until his death.
With neither an heir nor any information regarding his family, his personal secretary, Ms Sarah Joslyn, expressed interest in being the administrator of the estate.
She is now battling for control of the property with other parties, including Mr Stephen Ngatia Maina, who claims to be part of Crawford's adopted family, and former workers of Crawford who lived on his land.
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