A succession row over the vast estate of the late Safaricom CEO Robert William Collymore’s estate has been settled.
Collymore, who died on July 1, 2019, from cancer, had two wills, one on his estate in the United Kingdom and another dated April 18, 2018, on his estate in Kenya.
On March 21, 2022, his former wife Claire Hellen Collymore filed papers urging the court to intervene.
However, it looks as if all is well based on documents filed in court revealing that the parties entered an agreement on July 15, 2022.
“That by mutual consent of all the disputants in this matter, all the applications concerning the matter are removed by the act of signing this agreement, and the matter henceforth be marked settled in the court records with effect from the date of this agreement. It is further agreed that each disputant will settle their legal costs,” reads the court document.
In the papers, Hellen had accused Wambui of meddling with the UK will.
“I am highly apprehensive that the executrix may have meddled with the UK will and comingled assets with the deceased’s Kenyan estate in which she is the sole beneficiary. As she is the sole executor and trustee of the UK will, she is not accountable to anyone or any authority regarding this matter,” reads the affidavit.
Meanwhile, Collymore’s son James Robert Collymore had claimed that there was non-disclosure of the true record of all the assets in Kenya including bank accounts and statements by Wambui.
“That despite verbal assurance to me by the deceased prior to his death and also stating in the UK will that he had put in place sufficient funds to cater for the administration expenses of his estate and the inheritance tax, these funds were not available when the executrix administered his United Kingdom Estate,” reads the affidavit dated March 21, 2022.
On her part, Wambui dismissed the claims saying that there was no evidence to show that she has co-mingled Collymore’s assets under the UK will and the Kenyan will.
“The allegations of commingling estates are without any basis in fact… the deceased was clear that he left his daughter all his Vodafone shares for her maintenance, if he intended to leave additional monies as indicated he would have done so either in the UK will or the Kenyan will,” reads Wambui’s affidavit.
Under Kenya’s succession laws, Colloymore’s children James and Sarah have to either consent to the division of their father’s will as is or contest the documents and allow the courts to decide on how to divide the wealth amongst family members.