Ex-MP Cate Waruguru linked to transfer of six prime properties worth millions.
Former Laikipia Woman Representative Cate Waruguru has landed in controversy after the High Court in Mombasa linked her to a fraudulent transfer of prime assets in Nairobi and Mombasa.
Justice Gregory Mutai ruled that Waruguru, together with businessman Peter Njogu Waweru, unlawfully transferred six properties worth hundreds of millions to Rock & Pure Ltd, a company where Waruguru controls 70%.
The case was triggered by Waweru’s wife, Zipporah Njoki Kangara, who said the transfers were done without her spousal consent.
Justice Mutai said the scheme amounted to a “clever ruse” to cut her and her three daughters out of the inheritance. The contested assets included their matrimonial home in Utange, Bamburi, and surrounding investment plots.
Court records show Njoki and Waweru married in 2010 and jointly acquired the properties. Njoki told the court she contributed financially through loans, savings, and dividends, and even supervised the construction of their family home.
But in 2021, she discovered the properties had been secretly moved to Rock & Pure Ltd, incorporated only a year earlier.
“I did not give spousal consent. The transfers were fraudulent and meant to lock me and my children out,” Njoki told the court.
Njoki also alleged that Waruguru once visited her home with Waweru and intimidated her. She claimed the former MP spilt strange liquids in the house, saying she was “casting out demons,” while Waweru allegedly assaulted her.
Her lawyers argued the entire process was a calculated attempt to disinherit her, despite a caution already placed on the titles.
Through lawyer Mr Obonyo, the two denied wrongdoing. Waweru said he bought the properties alone and argued spousal consent was not required. They claimed the properties were later sold to a third party and dismissed Njoki’s evidence as weak.
Justice Mutai rejected their defence, ruling that matrimonial contribution goes beyond money and includes childcare, companionship, and domestic work.
He declared the transfers “null and void,” stressing that spousal consent is mandatory under Kenyan law.
The judgment has sparked wide debate about women’s property rights in marriage and the loopholes exploited in property transfers. Analysts say the ruling could shape future disputes and offer stronger protections for spouses in similar cases.
