The High Court in Eldoret has ordered a full hearing of the succession dispute involving the family of former prominent Eldoret farmer and politician Jackson Kiprotich Kibor.
The family is entangled in yet another vicious court battle over the will he left to guide the distribution of his estate valued at more than Sh16 billion.
Justice Reuben Nyakundi directed that the matter be heard on November 16 and 17 so that it can be expeditiously dispense with.
The case came up for a status conference hearing on Tuesday during which the judge asked the parties to file all their concerns and be prepared for the full hearing next month.
“We will have the matter for two days so that we have adequate time to see how far we can go in dispensing the issues raised,” Nyakundi said.
One of Kibor’s sons, Alfred Kibor, stood in court to protest over the state but the judge asked him to raise the grievances he had through his lawyer who was present virtually.
“Don’t forget that you appointed a lawyer in this matter and he is present. If you have any issues, please go through the lawyer because he will be able to handle that,” Nyakundi told Alfred.
During the status conference mention, most of the lawyers involved attended virtually.
Kibor named his fourth wife Yunita Kibor and lawyer Jonah Keter as executors of the will. They had moved to the High Court to have it adopted but his other widows, sons and daughters filed objections to the will being adopted in its form.
Court records indicate that there are 27 individuals mostly family members listed as objectors to the will which was last year released to the family soon after he died on March 16, 2022 at the age of 88.
Justice Nyakundi has directed that all the parties involved in the matter be present in court during the discussion on the status of the case.
“Once we agree on the issues to handle as per the Succession Act provides, then we can have the two days consecutively to hear the case and see how far we can handle it,” the judge said.
Justice Nyakundi had previously discouraged lawyers in matter to avoid dwelling on issues that were not central in the case.
“There is a clear procedure provided in the Succession Act on how such a case should be handled. We should all stick to that procedure and avoid losing track. If we don’t do that, we may stray into a swamp where it will be difficult to get out,” he said.
Lawyer Karen Chesoo, who is representing the executors of the will, said they had no problem with the new hearing dates and will be ready to proceed.
Some of the family members have accused Yunita of interfering with the estate yet the matter is still pending in court. She has, however, denied the claims.
Justice Nyakundi directed that the estate be left intact until the matter is determined.
Kibor left a vast estate including thousands of acres of agricultural land in the North Rift region, real estate and business premises in major towns of Eldoret, Nairobi, Nakuru, movable assets and bank deposits among others.
Two of Kibor’s surviving widows and their 27 children are among those listed as objectors in the case over the will.
Most of the objectors argue that the will may have been tampered with to favour Yunita in the distribution of the assets.
