Court told Governor Anne Waiguru is lawful owner of disputed Sh200 million Kitisuru mansion

9The High Court has heard that Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru is the rightful owner of a Sh200 million palatial house in Kitisuru, which is currently at the centre of an ownership dispute.

Appearing before Justice Oscar Angote, James Ndung’u Gethenji—CEO and proprietor of Kihingo Village (Waridi Gardens) Limited—testified that he, along with three other directors of the family-owned company, sold the house to Waiguru for Sh80 million in 2015.

Gethenji dismissed claims by lawyer Chris Kabiro, who alleges he purchased the same property in 2007, stating that Kabiro had only expressed interest in buying the house but never completed the transaction.

He further told the court that the signature Kabiro relies on in the contested sale agreement is a forgery.

"A forensic document examiner, Jacob Odhiambo, confirmed to the court that the signature of Gethenji in the sale agreement, which Kabiro pegs his claim, is a forgery", the court was told.

The former Tetu MP urged the judge to declare Anne Waiguru as the rightful owner of House Number 1D, located in the high-end Kitisuru area.

Gethenji told the court that he was responsible for selling all 55 ultra-modern houses built on a 37-acre parcel of land donated to Kihingo Village by Wangema Limited, the company that also owns Aberdares Safari Hotel in Nyeri.

He dismissed claims by his brothers, Robert Gethenji and Fredrick Gitahi, that they were unaware of Waiguru’s purchase of the house, calling them false. Gethenji asserted that all four directors of Kihingo—Robert, Fredrick, their late mother Hilda Wangari, and he—were involved in negotiating the sale price with Waiguru.

" I find it odd that my brothers are disputing Waiguru's ownership of the house, yet we, the four, negotiated with her and the monies she paid in deposit was used to bail out Wangema Limited, which was going through financial problems ".

The Sh20 billion estate, located on a 37-acre parcel of land, is owned by Kihingo Village (Waridi Gardens) Limited—a family-owned company belonging to the Gethenji family.

Gethenji told the court that Anne Waiguru moved into House No. 1D in September 2015 and has lived there ever since, for nearly ten years to date.

He said all the company’s directors had agreed that the proceeds from the sale of the house to Waiguru would be used to settle debts owed by the developer to various service providers.

Expressing concern, Gethenji said he found it disturbing that his two elder brothers had joined forces with Kabiro to dispute the sale, despite being among those who approved and facilitated the transaction.

Gethenji, who also serves as CEO of Kihingo, added that Kabiro had previously been evicted from House No. 1D for failing to pay rent. He further claimed that the management later discovered Kabiro had withheld over Sh80 million in proceeds from other house sales within the estate.

"When the fraud and forgery were discovered, I reported to the police, who investigated the matter and discovered that my signature on the sale agreement relied upon by Kabiro to claim the house had been forged," Gethenji stated.

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He said Kabiro was not arraigned in court since his (ndung'u) late mother impressed upon him to drop the case as parents of the lawyer were their family friends.

All the same, Gethenji said the sale agreement between Kabiro and Kihingo was vitiated due to forgery of his signature.

"Any agreement vitiated by forgery is a nullity in law," Gethenji testified.

Asked by Kabiro's lawyer whether he was seeking any relief from the court, Gethenji answered, "I am not seeking any relief from this court. All that I am asking this court is to grant the relief sought by Waiguru."

In this case, Anne Waiguru is asking the court to compel Kihingo Village (Waridi Gardens) Limited to finalise the sale agreement for House No. 1D.

Testifying before Justice Oscar Angote, lawyer Chris Kabiro claimed that Waiguru and Kihingo CEO James Ndung'u Gethenji colluded to defraud him of the property, which he says he purchased from the developers in 2007 for Sh42.8 million.

Kabiro told the court that at the time Gethenji sold the house to Waiguru, High Court Judge Erick Ogolla had issued an order barring any sale or transactions involving House No. 1D, pending determination of a case he had filed.

However, Justice Angote was informed that the court order had lapsed by the time Waiguru acquired the property.

Kabiro has urged the court to dismiss Waiguru’s case, arguing that her purchase violated a court order issued in June 2012 and is therefore illegal and contrary to public policy.

Waiguru contends that she is the legal and rightful owner of the property, having paid Sh40,687,170 as a deposit to Gethenji before taking up residence.

The case is scheduled for mention on October 8, 2025, to set a date for judgment.