A 93-year-old granny who won a Sh1 billion compensation case against the late President Daniel Moi has arrived in Nairobi for a legal battle at the Supreme Court to recover the funds.
The nonagenarian won a landmark case at the High Court and Court of Appeal and is in town to pursue the funds from the estate of the former president.
On Friday, lawyer Ahmednassir Abdullahi said he is ready to appear for the granny at the Supreme Court.
In a tweet on Friday, the lawyer identified the plaintiff as Mama Cherubet Chelugui saying "My oldest client, Mama Cherubet Chelugui -93 years old and strong- who is in a wheelchair, was airlifted from Eldoret to meet me in Nairobi."
"She won damages for Sh1 billion plus against H.E. Daniel arap Moi in the High Court and the Court of Appeal. Moi grabbed her land in the 1980s. We are now in the Supreme against his estate. It's acting for "Davids" like Mama Cherubet that gives purpose to practicing law," Ahmednassir said.
In 2019, the High Court ordered Moi to compensate the family of a deceased politician, Noah Kimngeny Chelungui, over illegal ownership of an up-market parcel of land measuring 53 acres in Eldoret.
High Court judge Antony Ombwayo had declared that the prime property belonged to the estate of Chelungui after his widow Susan Cheburet moved to court.
The court directed that the granny and her son, David K. Chelungui, (joint administrators of the estate of the late Chelungui) to be compensated Sh1,060,000,000 by Moi and Rai Plywood (K) Limited for the land.
In July 2022, Court of Appeal judges Patrick Kiage, Kathumira M’Inoti and Mumbi Ngugi dismissed two appeals against the 2019 judgment that ordered for the compensation.
The widow had claimed that on September 21, 1983, the former president forcibly took over the 53-acre piece of land which they owned within the Eldoret Municipality.
Through lawyer William Arusei, she told the judge that her late husband, Chelungui, and five others bought the land measuring 3,300 acres from a colonial settler, Jacobus Hendrik EngelBrecht, in 1965.
Each of the six got 620 acres after sub-division.
The land was later allocated to the former Head of State then registered in his name.
Moi was apportioned 53 acres, Stanlely Kiptoo arap Metto - a former assistant minister - got 12 acres and a small portion was dished out to Chelungui.
He later died in 2005 and members of his family said they had suffered irreparable damages since they were displaced from their farm.