William Chepkut’s widow in battle with in-laws over late MP’s property

Three months after the death of former Ainabkoi MP Wiliam Chepkut, his widow and two sons are embroiled in a tussle with her in-laws over the property left behind by the lawmaker. 

Milcah Chepkut, the late Chepkut’s first wife, says her life and the lives of her two sons are in danger. 

On Thursday night, Milcah and her shamba boy were arrested and detained for a night at Kaptagat Police Station on accusations of malicious damage to her matrimonial house. 

Mr Chepkut died on October 8, 2022, and left behind property valued at about Sh150 million, mostly in Nairobi and Eldoret.

The assets include a hotel and prime plots in Eldoret, a timber treatment plant, and agricultural land within Uasin Gishu. He also had several movable assets.

Ms Chepkut who was booked at the station was unconditionally released on Friday morning without being taken to court. 

Matrimonial home

The widow was accused of breaking into a house she says is her matrimonial home.

Upon her release, she accused police officers from the station of being used by relatives of her late husband to fight her, alleging a scheme to disinherit her. 

“I spent a night at this station. Police are accusing me of malicious damage. How can someone be accused of damaging her property? she wondered.

Reached for comment, Ainabkoi Sub County police commander Leonard Matete said the arrest was meant to protect Ms Chepkut from being injured after she stormed the homestead at night.

“I was aware of the arrest. I am conducting the OCS to understand what exactly happened at the station before responding to allegations of Ms Chepkut being assaulted while in police cells,” said Mr. Matete. 

But the widow linked her arrest to her late husband’s property which she accuses her in-laws of a plot to disinherit her. 

Ms Chepkut said that although she was detained at the station, police have not revealed to her who the complainant was. She also claimed that she was assaulted by the arresting police officers. 

Chepkut's brothers' take

Responding, however, the late MP’s brothers claimed Mrs. Chepkut of seeking public sympathy on matters which the family has already solved. They claimed their late brother left a will that had to be followed.

Mr Daniel Chepkut, the late MP’s brother claimed that the house in question does not belong to the widow. He said the said house belongs to the whole family and was built in their father’s homestead and their deceased brother had left firm instructions that none of the widows should claim sole ownership of the house.

“This house doesn’t belong to Milcah as she is claiming this is our extended family house. The late MP left us with firm instruction that she should not claim ownership of the house,” he said.

He accused the widow of frustrating the former MP when he was alive, claiming she had even filed a divorce case at the family court in Eldoret. “She was not living in the house where she was arrested and it was under the custody of one of our brothers who is acting as a caretaker,” he said. 

'Undermining other widows'

He further claimed Milcah was allocated seven acres of land outside their ancestral home together with other property.

“She was given a seven-acre piece of land at Chep-Centre and that is where she is expected to construct her home,” he said.

The extended family of Mr. Chepkut also accused the widow of undermining other widows of the deceased MP and skipping important family meetings to discuss the succession of the property in question.

 “On January 3, we had a family meeting to dispose of some of the deceased's items like clothes as required traditionally but Milcah did not turn up,” Daniel said.

'Stage managed'

Speaking to journalists, the widow said that her arrest was stage-managed to deter her from accessing her matrimonial house, which she wanted to enter after visiting the homestead. 

She said that she had traveled from Nairobi to visit her sons in the village only to find that her house had been locked by an unknown person. 

As the owner of the house, she instructed the shamba boy to break the lock from her house. That is when she was arrested on allegations of malicious damage.

The widow is now calling upon President William Ruto to come to her rescue. 

“When my husband died, President Ruto promised to stand with my family and the time has come for him, together with our Woman Rep Gladys Boss Shollei to come out and save my family from greedy in-laws who want to disinherit me,” said Mrs. Chepkut. 

She said that her dilemma started immediately after the death of her husband. 

Legal action

The widow wants legal action taken against the Kaptagat Police Station for detaining her unlawfully. Ms Chepkut and her two sons want the officer in charge of the police station to keep off family property disputes. 

“Unfortunately, police who are supposed to protect us and our property is being used to scare us to the extent of detaining our mother,” said Christian Kipkoech Chepkut, the first son of the late Chepkut.

The the family has also accused Chepkut’s siblings of squandering more than Sh8m as condolence contributions that was raised during the burial of Chepkut. 

“During the burial of our father, we were given more than Sh8 m as condolence money but our relatives vanished with the cash,” said Nicholas Chepkut, the late MP’s son.

Already the family lawyer Stephen Ombego has revealed that he will sue the Kaptagat Police Station for unlawful detention of his client.

“I have talked to the area police boss who has refuted my client's claim. I am soon going to sue the police station for the illegal detention of my client,” said Mr Ombego.

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