The family of Kenya's third president, Mwai Kibaki, is arguably one of the richest in the country and has quietly accumulated wealth across various industries for a period of more than five decades. 

Their vast wealth amounts to billions, emerging from business interests in real estate, agriculture, and shares in blue-chip companies. 

Research by Kenyans.co.ke indicated that when Kibaki breathed his last on Thursday, April 21, he left behind a multibillion empire worth at least Ksh150 billion. 

The gate of former President Kibaki’s Kanyange home in Othaya. DAILY NATION

Here are the details: 

Muthaiga Homes 

Kibaki spent the better part of his final moments at his Muthaiga home, where he also lived for most of life alongside his family.

He was among the first Africans to settle in Muthaiga - previously a whites-only neighbourhood before Kenya attained independence in 1963. 

The exquisite estate is home to the who's who in the society including the likes of Jimi Wanjigi,  business magnate Manu Chandaria, and Kibaki’s former political nemesis - Charles Njonjo. 

It was in Muthaiga that Kibaki played his favourite sport where he was a member of the Muthaiga Golf Club. A long time resident of Muthaiga, Kibaki had two homes; one where he and his family lived and a neighbouring unit which he rented out.  

Among his tenants include renowned economist Makhtar Diop who rented the house while serving as Kenya’s World Bank country director in the early 2000s. 

In 2005, Kibaki’s wife, First Lady Lucy Kibaki was reported to have stormed the house rented by Diop as the World Bank employee was hosting a party that turned noisy.  

The Nation reported the incident, prompting a furious Mrs Kibaki to storm the newsroom at night, allegedly assaulted the journalist who had penned the story, in one of the dramatic moments of the Kibaki regime. 

Conservative estimates place the value of the property owned by Kibaki in Muthaiga at Ksh600 million. 

Othaya Rural Home

In his Othaya rural home, where he will be buried alongside his late wife Lucy Kibaki, the former President has a 20-acre farm. 

The land initially consisted of about 10 acres and a farmhouse which he often stayed in while visiting the constituency while serving as Othaya MP. 

However, after he became President, the state upgraded the home to meet the standards of a Head of State.  

The upgrade involved the purchase of the neighbour’s lands to expand it to its current size of about 20 acres. It currently includes an airstrip, a police post, the family houses, a tea farm, and about two acres of avocado trees. 

About a kilometre from the Kanyange family home, on the outskirts of Othaya town, is another 10-acre farm where he grows tea. 

An image of the Ksh400 million house in Nyeri county belonging to Kenya's third president Mwai Kibaki. THE STANDARD

Mweiga Retirement Home

After passing the leadership baton to incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta, the majority of Kenyans expected Kibaki to retire in Mweiga, Nyeri County.

The state had built the massive home as a retirement gift to the former president. The house, which cost taxpayers Ksh400 million, sits on a 100-acre piece of land which was donated by a corporate where Kibaki was a shareholder. 

Among the features of the state house-like home are a state of the art guest house, a helipad, expansive gardens, a secretariat office and a canteen block for staff. The house was also to have a petrol station which a parastatal had offered to build - but the retired President turned it away. 

During his plush retirement home, Kibaki opted to instead spend much of his time at his house in the lavish Muthaiga home in Nairobi County. 

Close associates of the politician detailed that he preferred to be in an urban and cosmopolitan area as opposed to life in the rural areas. He, however, spent the better part of his retirement weekends travelling to Mweiga with his children and grandkids. 

Nairobi CBD Buildings

Kibaki was among the early Africans to invest in the Nairobi Central Business District(CBD). He, alongside the elite public officials of the 1970s, formed an investment company, Heri Limited, that owns strategic buildings and gated estates in Nairobi

Through Heri, Kibaki had shares at Norfolk Towers, College House and Kolobot Gardens. His fellow shareholders at Heri included former Ministers John Michuki, Njenga Karume, Charles Njonjo, Ken Matiba, Dr Njoroge Mungai. Former CBK Governors Duncan Ndegwa and Philip Ndegwa also had shares in the investment vehicle. 

The veteran politician also had interests at International Life House which he co-owned with fallen businessman Chris Kirubi. 

In a past interview with the Business Daily, Kirubi stated he faced it rough when trying his businesses in the 70s and 80s and hence sought political protection by incorporating then Vice President Mwai Kibaki as his business partner. 

The former Vice President’s son, David, sits on the board of International Life House although the two families have had a dispute on sharing of their joint wealth. 

“I have no problem with Kibaki. It is just that some members of his family wanted more than they were entitled to,” Kirubi was quoted by the Business Daily in 2014. 

Kibaki previously owned Union Towers (the building housing Pizza Inn in Nairobi’s Moi Avenue) but sold it in 2014 to Mt Kenya University - at a cost of Ksh800 million. 

Former President Mwai Kibaki (right) enjoys a piece of cake during a past celebration. FILE

Ranches

The former President was among Kenya’s biggest landowners, with at least 30,000 acres of land - mostly acquired in the 1960s and 70s when he served as Finance Minister. 

In Laikipia, he owns the 20,000-acre Lombara Ranch in the outskirts of Rumuruti - the expansive ranch extends over ten kilometres towards Nanyuki town. The land is worth at least Ksh40 billion going by market rates for land in Nanyuki town and in Rumuruti. 

In 2016, the family was forced to abandon part of the land after the farm manager - the former President’s nephew John Mwai - was attacked and suffered gun shot wounds over suspected feuds over grazing fields. 

A few kilometres across the road from his Mweiga retirement home, Kibaki owned the Rware Wheat Farm which is about 600 acres in size. 

The land is worth at least 600 million after the state recently built the Narumoru-Kanyagia road cutting through it in Solio Ranch. The road connects Narumoru town to the Nyeri-Nyahururu highway and had increased the property’s value. 

When news broke in 2016 that Bahati constituency was getting a gated community, Nakuru residents were filled with excitement due to the billions of shillings that would be poured into the county in a bid to establish a one-of-a-kind estate. 

In what is arguably the Kibaki family’s flagship project, the former President set aside 200 acres off his 10,000-acre farm located on the outskirts of Nakuru City. 

The estate along the Nakuru–Nyahururu road, will offer a spectacular view of the scenic Menengai crater and is expected to expand into a fully independent mini-city. 

"The idea is to establish a gated community with more than 800 homes, a shopping complex, schools and other social amenities," a representative of the holding company, Gingalili Limited said of the project. 

Developing is still ongoing with an acre of land going for Ksh11 million and Ksh1.5 million for an eighth. The ranch is estimated to be worth at least Ksh90 billion.

Bahati Member of Parliament Kimani Ngunjiri was quoted by the Standard, as stating that the vast land would present a great opportunity for the residents in the constituency, but urged for the prices to be lowered to accommodate the common mwananchi. 

"It is a smart move by the former president to sub-divide and sell the land but the pricing is not right. One thing I want to acknowledge is that sub-division of the land will open up Bahati in a big way," he stated.

Other Investments

The departed President also had multiple properties at the coast including beach plots in Nyali and Diani - as well as shares in some buildings in Nyeri town. He also invested in stocks worth billions of shillings in bluechip companies listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE).

An image of Heri Heights located inside Kolobot Gardens.