Man disowns biological father in bitter succession row for Sh500m estate
The merit and credit of the Law of Succession are derived from its capacity to ensure that people’s estates upon their demise get to the rightful deserving hands or custody.
What you need to know:
- Mr Rutto jointly with Anne Chepkorir claims in the court documents filed before Justice Reuben Nyakundi of Eldoret High Court that he is entitled to 80 acres of land that forms part of the deceased’s estate.
- He claims his father died intestate, leaving behind adopted and biological children, and that he is among the children the deceased took care of through his second wife Rebecca since childhood under Nandi customary law.
A man shocked an Eldoret Court on Monday after he disowned his biological father in a bitter succession court battle over control of more than Sh500 million estate that was left behind by the late prominent Uasin Gishu trader, Kireger Kutto.
The deceased had immensely invested in dairy and cereal farming, and left behind four widows and 27 children, the Land and Environment court in Eldoret heard.
Mzee Kutto owned hundreds of acres of land and prime plots in Burnt Forest, Ziwa, and Sergoit areas, Uasin Gishu County.
Jonah Rutto accused Philip Kutto, whom he refers to as his brother and not father, of sidelining him in the distribution of the late’s multi-million shillings estate.
Mr Kutto and his young brother Daniel Kiplagat had been granted letters of administration to run and manage the vast estate of the deceased who died interstate 19 years ago.
Mr Rutto jointly with Anne Chepkorir claimed in the court documents filed before Justice Reuben Nyakundi of Eldoret High Court that he is entitled to 80 acres of land that forms part of the deceased’s estate.
He claimed his father died intestate, leaving behind adopted and biological children, and that he is among the children the deceased took care of through his second wife Rebecca since childhood under Nandi customary law.
Rutto further stated that the second widow (Rebecca) was never blessed with children of her own as she was barren. The deceased had four wives namely Sarah, Rebecca, Mary, and Esther.
He claimed that his father died before effecting the transfer of the said portion of land to him.
“We have been illegally and maliciously excluded as beneficiaries in the estate of the deceased by his adopted children,” argued Rutto.
He lashed out at administrators of the deceased’s estate for allegedly concealing material facts from the trial court to disinherit them, hence leading to a miscarriage of justice.
Mr Rutto reiterated that unless appropriate orders are issued in the best interest of justice, they risk losing their only share of livelihood and investment.
'Not adopted'
But in a rejoinder, Mr Kutto said the appellant was never one of the children of the late Kireger Kutto, whether adopted or biological as alleged in the application he filed in court.
“The two are not entitled to any portion of the deceased’s estate as they are neither children, beneficiaries nor dependents of the deceased. They have no rights to lay claim over the deceased estate, “said Mr Kutto.
According to him, at no time did his son Jonah Kutto become an adopted child of the deceased as he alleges in his court documents.
He added:” I raised Jonah until when he attained the age of maturity/adult. As for the second objector, she is unknown to me as well as the entire family of the late Kireger Kutto,”.
As for the second widow Rebecca, Mr Kutto claimed that she was his stepmother who only had one child called Sarah Chemeli adding that at no time did he see her stay with an adopted child.
“Upon the death of our stepmother Rebecca, the family sat down and we came up with her eulogy listing all her children including stepchildren, and nowhere were the two, Jonah and Chepkorir mentioned as children of the said widow as they allege.," Mr Kutto said.
The court will give further direction on the matter on May 21.
