A row over the estate of former MP, William Chepkut is set to prolong after the High Court ordered that the succession proceedings be started afresh.
Justice Reuben Nyakundi revoked the proceedings initiated by the deceased's siblings and son, who sought to be appointed administrators of his estate.
“As a consequence, the gazette notice dated 4.10.2024 No. 12917 legally recognising Daniel Kiprotich Chirchir, Caroline Jebiwott Chirchir, and Christian Kipkoech Chirchir Chepkut as administrators to the estate of the deceased be annulled for being tainted with acts of misrepresentation and non-disclosure on the part of the petitioners,” the Judge said in a January 31, 2025 decision.
“That a declaration be and is hereby made that the proceedings for the making of the grant of representation to administer the estate of the deceased be commenced denovo (start afresh) as Cause No E07 of 2023,” the judge added.
The dispute arose after Daniel Chirchir (brother), Caroline Chirchir (sister), and Christian Chepkut (son) jointly petitioned for a Grant of Letters of Administration for the estate of the late Mr Chepkut who passed away in October 2022.
The petition was immediately objected to by two women, Milcah Jepngetich Samoei and Betcy Cheruto Birgen, who claimed to be widows of the deceased.
Milcah Samoei presented a 1993 marriage certificate arguing that she had a legal right to administer the estate as the deceased's legally recognised surviving spouse.
She contended that the petitioners had acted unilaterally and excluded her from the proceedings, violating section 66 of the Law of Succession Act, which gives priority to spouses and children over siblings in succession matters.
A second objection was raised by Betcy Birgen, who claimed that she was also the deceased's wife and the mother of two of his minor children. She insisted that she and her children were rightful beneficiaries and should have been involved in the succession process.
In response, the petitioners told the court that Milcah had been estranged from the former MP for 10 years and had even filed for a divorce.
The petitioners added that she withdrew the divorce application after the deceased had passed on. They added that the court was the only one with the power to determine whether she was the only widow of the former MP.
In response to Betcy, the petitioners argued that she did not provide evidence to show that she was legally married to the deceased.
In making his decision, Justice Nyakundi relied on Section 66 of the Law of Succession Act, which gives an order of preference for selecting estate administrators where the deceased has died without a valid will.
“This provision delineates a clear hierarchical order of preference for potential administrators, with primary consideration given to surviving spouses, followed by the deceased's children…. Furthermore, as a spouse and children survive the deceased, his siblings are not entitled to rank superior against the nucleus family to entitle a benefit from the deceased's intestate estate,” he said.
The court ordered that the proceedings for the recognition of the administrators of the former MP's estate be started afresh.
