Moi grandson to pay Sh1.5m annually in child support to ex-wife
Former President Daniel Moi’s grandson Collins Kibet at Nakuru court on July 13, 2021.
A grandson of the late President Daniel Moi has been ordered to pay Sh1.5 million annually to support his children with former wife Gladys Jeruto Tagi.
Principal Magistrate Benjamin Limo ruled that Ms Tagi, who filed her case in April last year, had proved that Mr Collins Kibet Moi had neglected his two children, aged 11 and nine, for over 10 years.
He ordered that the Moi scion take full responsibility for the children’s education and medical insurance and pay some of their entertainment expenses.
Ms Tagi had sought to have Mr Kibet ordered to pay Sh 200,000 per term for the children’s education, 200,000 for their annual medical cover and 100,000 monthly entertainment costs.
She further sought Sh 100,000 for food, 150,000 for upkeep, Sh 100,000 for clothing, 100,000 for rent and Sh 50,000 for house help.
The court however directed that Mr Kibet caters for the minors' education, medical and share the entertainment cost with Ms Tagi.
"The defendant shall pay school fees and also take care of the medical needs (via medical cover). the parties shall share in the provision of entertainment needs of the minors," ruled Mr Limo.
Ms Tagi claimed Mr Kibet had abandoned her children in 2012, leaving the responsibility of caring for them to her alone.
She told the court that they lived together for four years between 2008 and 2012 and were blessed with the two children.
Ms Tagi complained that she had been overwhelmed by the burden of raising the children alone and needed Mr Kibet to also shoulder part of it, adding that she had no stable source of income.
Mr Kibet’s attempt to deny the children was unsuccessful after court-sanctioned DNA tests revealed that he was the biological father to the children.
Having been cornered by the evidence, Mr Kibet ceded ground and offered to provide an NHIF cover to the children.
He had told the court that he was broke and was surviving on help from friends after his businesses collapsed and he was evicted from his rented apartment.
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But the court was informed that the son of the late Jonathan Toroitich, Moi’s eldest son, was battling in court for a share of his father’s multimillion-shilling estate and that of his grandfather worth over Sh340 billion.
Magistrate Limo observed that the welfare of children should be a shared responsibility and both parents are obligated by law to take care of them.
“Having evaluated the evidence on record, the exhibits and submissions of parties together with authorities, I find the plaintiff to have proven her case on a balance of probabilities,” ruled Mr Limo.
Editor's note: an earlier version of this story reported that Collins Kibet had been ordered to pay upkeep amounting to Sh500,000 per year. We have since established that the total figure is Sh1.5 million per year. The error is regretted.
