Kirima widow warns buyers off Njiru land as family row over 1,000-acre parcel deepens
Written on
Teresia Wairimu Kirima says plots on the roughly 1,000-acre Kirima land in Njiru are being sold without her consent, and has told buyers to hold their payments and banks to stop taking the title as security.
The widow of the late billionaire and former Starehe MP Gerishon Kamau Kirima has cautioned Kenyans against buying portions of the Kirima land in Njiru, Nairobi, saying the approximately 1,000-acre parcel is being sold without her consultation.
Teresia Wairimu Kirima told journalists that the family had not agreed on the disposal of the property, and that buyers risk losing their money on transactions whose status has not been settled within the household. She urged prospective purchasers to suspend payments until the family meets and agrees on how the land should be managed or sold.
“I am asking land buyers, do not pay anything until the family sits down and agrees. I am the owner of the land, do not pay,” she said. Wairimu added that she had not been informed how many plots are being sold or what prices are being charged to buyers.
She also cautioned banks against advancing loans secured on the land title, arguing that any transaction involving the property should be discussed with her first. “Buyers, do not go to the banks to get loans to buy the land. If you pay, know you have taken a big risk,” she said, describing her exclusion from decisions on the property as a step too far.
The dispute follows a landmark ruling in October 2023, when the Environment and Land Court affirmed Kirima’s ownership of the Njiru property. Justice Samson Okong’o held that Kirima was the rightful owner and dismissed claims by self-help groups and squatters who argued they had acquired portions of the land through adverse possession.
The judgment affected thousands of squatters and people who had bought or occupied plots inside the property, and initial eviction orders raised concern about their future. The family later opted against forced demolitions, allowing occupants an opportunity to regularise ownership by purchasing their plots — a process now complicated by the disagreement over who may sell.