Nelson Muguku family in court fight over grandchildren’s upkeep

A fresh court fight has pushed the family of the late poultry tycoon Nelson Muguku back into the spotlight, this time over the upkeep of two grandchildren.

The children’s mother, Jane Nyanchama, has sued Muguku’s widow, Leah, and seven of his children, accusing them of hiding details of the Nelson Muguku Family Trust while the minors struggle to have their school fees and living costs covered. She wants the High Court in Nairobi to order full disclosure of what the trust earns and how much is set aside for her children with Muguku’s son, David Njuru.

In court papers, Nyanchama says she met Njuru in the United States in 2014, moved to Kenya the following year and settled with him and their children in a house in Nairobi’s Mountain View Estate that she says is registered under the family trust. Two years later, she says, the marriage broke down and Njuru moved out, leaving her to raise the children in the same house as the couple fought through divorce and child-maintenance cases.

She claims previous court orders require Njuru to pay half of the school fees but that arrears have climbed to about Sh1.4 million, even as he tells the court he is broke and overwhelmed by bills. Bank records she filed, she says, show frequent spending on entertainment and liquor that does not match the picture of hardship he paints.

The battle has drawn attention back to the fortune Muguku built from poultry and shrewd investing. Born in Kiambu County, he quit teaching in his 20s and, with just two hens, a cock and about Sh2,000 in savings, started a small chicken operation that grew into Muguku Poultry Farm, one of Kenya’s biggest hatcheries.

He later became one of Equity Bank’s earliest backers, at one point holding a 6.08 percent stake that made him the lender’s largest individual shareholder.

Beyond poultry and banking, the family has sunk billions into real estate, including the 50-acre Waterfront Karen Mall in Nairobi’s Karen suburb and other properties in Nairobi and Kikuyu.

Now, Nyanchama argues, the wealth that began with two hens should help guarantee stability for her children. Justice Chacha Mwita has given the Muguku family 14 days to respond to her suit seeking fuller disclosure on the trust, with a hearing set for Feb. 17, 2026.