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A major succession legal fight pitting the children of a Uasin Gishu tycoon Jackson Kibor against his youngest wife over the control of his estate worth more than 16 billion has taken a new turn.

This was after the daughters and sons of the late Kibor moved to Eldoret High Court to block their step mother Eunitah Kibor from controlling their deceased father’s multi-billion estate.

Led by one of the tycoon daughters Loice Kibor they castigated Unitah of persistently ignoring court orders which directed that the status quo in the estate of the deceased be maintained.

The children have opposed their young step-mother’s fresh application in court seeking to bar them from accessing some of their late father’s assets located in Eldoret town and its surroundings.

Through battery of 10 lawyers led by Mathai Maina, the deceased’s children argued that granting such order to their step mother would amount to giving her more rights to the property of their father at the expense of other beneficiaries

“Such orders would amount to sidelining some of the beneficiaries in the distribution of the estate while giving others freedom to act as they wish”, stated Mathai.

The Presiding Judge Reuben Nyakundi is hearing a succession case in which Kibor’s 29 children and three widows have rejected a Will he left behind arguing that it was forgery.

Forensic examination

Justice Nyakundi had ordered that the Will be subjected to forensic examination at the DCI in Nairobi to ascertain whether the document is genuine or fake

Some of Kibor children argue that the Will was doctored by Unitah to favour herself and her four children in the distribution of the estate which is at the centre of the succession battle in court.

When the matter came up in court yesterday, Kibor’s daughter Loyce Kibor complained before the Judge as to why Unitah was collecting rent from commercial buildings owned by the deceased without involving other family members.

She wondered why Eunitah was defying a court that barred her from collecting sh 2 million monthly rent from commercial buildings of their late father and pocketing  the same for her personal use at the expense of other family members.

According to the Loice Kibor Unitah has so far collected more than Sh100 million since the demise of their father four years ago. They say that Unitah had diverted the rent to a different bank account to evade court orders.

“Your honor it’s unfair that she had been allowed to collect the rent against court orders which are not enforced as you had directed,” argued Loyce.

Stood in court

The drama unfolded after she raised her hand and stood in court to protest over Unitah’s control of the estate.

The deceased’s children among them Albert Kibor have also accused the widow of illegally taking over the more than 300 acres Mafuta farm after Kibor’s death instead of staying at her matrimonial home at Chepkoilel area adjacent to University of Eldoret.

Eunitah’s attempt to take over the matrimonial home in Kebenes where Kibor’s first wife Mary was buried was thwarted after the deceased’s sons led Philip Kibor kicked her out early this year. They have taken issue with Eunita accusing her of seizing and selling off all movable assets that were part of the estate of the late Kibor.

Eunitah has also been accused of forging some of the titles and other documents for the plots owned by Kibor in Eldoret town.

“She does all the illegalities on the estate and then rushes to court to cry out yet she is the one defying orders in place. She has been misusing courts while intermingling in the estate of the deceased”, says Loyce.

Loyce was in court along with hers among sisters Magdaline and Betty during the hearing of the succession matter.

They argue that Unitah got married to Kibor when Kibor already had the wealth and she cannot seek to control the estate.

Sought protection

Unitah has also moved to the High Court seeking protection saying she along with her four children had been evicted from her matrimonial home in Mafuta Farm where her deceased husband had allocated her.

Eunitah has brought to the attention of the Judge threats on her life and that of her children from her step children whom she claimed were determined to ensure that she does not benefit from the property left behind by her husband.

 But in their rejoinder, Loyce and her siblings argue that the late Kibor never gave out Mafuta Farm to Unitah as she claims.

According to court documents filed in court, Eunitah Kibor and her children claim that Kibor’s elder sons and daughters have ganged up to frustrate her and ensure she loses all the property given to her by late tycoon husband.

She argues that her step-children have acted in breach of an active court order restraining any of the beneficiaries from intermeddling with the estate.

The tycoon cum politician left behind a vast estate that spread in five counties, namely Uasin Gishu, TransNzoia,Nakuru Nairobi and Mombasa which are  at the center of a vicious succession battle involving the widows and children of the deceased.

Kibor’s estate includes more than 4,000 acres of land in Uasin Gishu and TransNzoia counties among other properties in the country.

Eunita had accused her step-children led by Kibor’s eldest son Philip Kibor, Magdalene, Betty, Loise, Samwel, David, Albert and Stephen of contempt of court by interfering with three parcels of land that forms part of the estate with the intention of evicting her and her four children.

She has also accused her step-children of cruelty and abuse, claiming that three months after Mzee Kibor’s burial, her step-children unlawfully evicted her and her minor children from her Kabenes matrimonial home.