Court allows former MP’s widow to keep Moi land gift from Moi

Retired President Daniel Moi’s name was dragged into the succession suit involving the family of former Assistant Minister Isaac Salat.

The suit is about a land allocated to one of Salat’s widows.

At the burial of Mr Salat in December 1987, Mr Moi was persuaded by the deceased’s family to allocate Josephine Salat the land as she had not received any from the politician.

Conceding to the request, the former president directed the then Agricultural Development Corporation managing director Walter Kilele, to allocate her 30 acres from the vast State-owned Ngata Farm in Nakuru and have it registered in her name.

More than two decades after Mr Salat’s death on November 29, 1987, the controversial allocation has triggered a long-running dispute between the families of Josephine and her co-widow Elizabeth.

On June 6, Appeal Court judges Mohammed Warsame, Daniel Musinga and Kathurima M’Inoti, dismissed an appeal by Ms Elizabeth challenging the ruling of Justice Luka Kimaru.

Ms Elizabeth, the mother of former MP and Kanu Secretary-General Nick Salat asked the High Court in 1992 to have the 30-acre farm made part of the estate of Salat’s family and distributed to the 15 dependants.

Mr Salat had nine children with Elizabeth and four with Josephine. The 13 were to control the multi-million-shilling estate comprising Club 181 in Sotik town, shares, commercial plots and farms in Nairobi, Kericho, Bomet and Sotik. One farm in Kericho sits on 143 acres.

Ms Elizabeth argued that although the Ngata Farm was allocated to Josephine, the parcel would not have been secured if it was not for the plea of the family to the former president.

She pleaded with Justice Kimaru to consider the land as part of the deceased’s estate.

However, Josephine differed with her co-widow saying the land was in existence at the time Mr Salat died and, therefore, could not form part of their husband’s assets.

“Although the allocation was made through the family’s intervention, I was later required by Dr Kilele to purchase the parcel from ADC for Sh90,000 and pay conveyancing fees before the land was transferred to me,” she said.

Justice Kimaru concurred with her and said she was the legitimate owner of the land.

“It is not in doubt the property belongs to Ms Josephine and it is not available for distribution to the deceased’s dependants,” ruled Justice Kimaru. The judge then distributed the remaining properties to the beneficiaries with Nick Salat inheriting the 10-acre Mulot farm in Kericho.

Although Ms Josephine claimed her late husband had laid the foundation for her matrimonial home on the land, Justice Kimaru said evidence showed that Nick had built a house and settled on the land.

The judge also rejected another proposal by some family members to have Nick share the land with his step-brother Walter Salat, saying the latter would be compensated with an appropriate parcel elsewhere.

The parties did not object to Ms Elizabeth inheriting the four-bedroom matrimonial home in the 15-acre Siwot farm. Equally, they agreed to abide by the wishes of the deceased that the Bomet town land be inherited by Mr Salat’s second wife Josephine.