Trouble in Moi's paradise: Bitter succession battle erupts over his multibillion-shilling estate

In his 24-year rule, Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi managed to establish one of the strongest and most stable business empires in Kenya.

With a successful political career and thriving business ventures, Mzee Moi amassed great wealth, with his family ranked among the richest in Kenya.

By the time he died in 2019, Mzee Moi had accumulated a colossal fortune valued at over Sh340 billion in property, cash and company shares.

But despite the immense wealth, his family managed to keep many of their disputes private, allowing little to slip out to the public sphere.

The family appeared stable and peaceful, until after his death, when the public began to learn about some of the inner happenings and the state of the family.

The Nation has established that though the family is keen to keep its affairs away from the public glare, all is not well with the former first family.

A bitter succession battle over his multibillion-shilling estate and sibling rivalry are just some of the struggles the family is grappling with.

When he was alive, Mzee Moi ensured he kept his family together and even made plans for a smooth sharing of his estate upon his demise. He drafted a will to guide the distribution of his wealth among his eight children.

According to the written will filed in the family court in Nairobi, Moi left behind a 931-hectare parcel of land that was to be distributed among his five sons: Jonathan Kipkemboi Toroitich Moi, Gideon Moi, Raymond Moi, Philip Moi and John Mark Moi.

He gave clear orders to his trustees at Kabarak University to share the ancestral land equally among his sons, who would later transfer their parcels to their children.

Moi also gave Sh100 million to each of his three daughters: Jennifer Chemutai Moi, June Chebet Moi and Doris Chekorir Moi.

Moi appointed lawyer Zehrabanu Janmohamed as the executrix and trustee of the will. The court, on October 9, 2020, gave her the authority to manage and distribute the properties, having been given the grant of probate of the written will.

The execution of the will has, however, been derailed by infighting among the former Presidents’ family members and former allies who contested some of the properties listed in the will.

Moi’s grandson Collins Kibet, who moved to court seeking damages for his alleged exclusion from his father Jonathan Toroitich’s estate, accused Ms Janmohamed of conspiring to disinherit him of his father’s property.

According to Mr Kibet, the lawyer was trying to deny him his rightful share of inheritance by concealing some of his grandfather’s assets spanning three countries, as well as by irregularly transferring some assets.

Mr Kibet, whose late father had a troubled relationship with his grandfather, is also embroiled in another succession battle with his stepmother Sylvia Moi over Jonathan Toroitich’s estate, a fight that is turning ugly.

The grandson, while seeking to be made a co-administrator alongside Sylvia Moi, made damning allegations against her, saying she was responsible for his woes, including his struggle with alcoholism, unemployment and homelessness.

In court documents, Mr Kibet claimed Sylvia Moi had mistreated him when he was growing up, pushing him into alcoholism and eventual depression. She accused her of frustrating his efforts to benefit from his father’s estate.

He claimed his motor vehicle spare parts business had collapsed after he fell into depression and was unable to carry out his responsibilities, including taking care of his two children that he sired with his estranged wife Gladys Jeruto Tagi.

“I have always taken care of my undisputed children and dependents but I am however unable to do so due to my dire financial situation,” stated Mr Kibet in the documents.

He also revealed that the relationship between his late father and Sylvia Moi had collapsed 10 years before his death, accusing her of being unfaithful to his father.

According to Mr Kibet, Sylvia Moi had “numerous” extramarital affairs that have cast serious doubts on the paternity of her two children and his stepbrothers Clint and Wayne.

“Sylvia’s numerous and shameless affairs with several men including my late father’s (JT) driver Kasule and my longtime friend Steve Samoei [were] a source of great pain and embarrassment to my father,” noted Mr Kibet.

The Moi scion has threatened to move to court to request a paternity test on his two stepbrothers.

Sylvia Moi, on the other hand, has alleged that Mr Kibet is unfit to be made a co-administrator because he is irresponsible and unable to support himself and his dependents.

She argued that her stepson had failed to complete his flying course in the US, dropping out of college before completing the course.

“He has time and again proved that he lacks [a] sense of responsibility by misusing his fees, suffers from chronic alcoholism, neglected his wife and children in America and two others he got with Ms Jeruto leading to court proceedings in Nakuru and has never shown interest in doing anything meaningful for himself,” said Sylvia Moi in court documents.

The widow is also battling two other women – Beatrice Mbuli and Faith Nyambura – for control of Jonathan Moi’s estate, estimated to be worth over Sh30 million.

Away from the succession matter, the Moi family is also struggling to maintain its status politically, especially in Baringo and Nakuru counties, ahead of the 2022 General Election.

During his reign, President Moi wielded immense power, determining who survived the cut-throat politics in the country and in his Rift Valley backyard.

For more than a quarter of a century, Moi, who died on February 4, 2020, dominated Kenyan politics.

The former President, who took over from Kenya's founding father Mzee Jomo Kenyatta following his death on August 22, 1978, had earned the title "professor of politics".

But less than three months before the 2022 elections, Deputy President William Ruto, a key political rival of the Mois, seems to have crafted a strategy to end the Moi dynasty.

In Nakuru’s Rongai constituency, for instance, Moi's eldest son, Raymond Moi, is expected to face off with UDA aspirant Paul Chebor.

Political analysts say the contest for the seat will be a two-horse race between Kanu and DP Ruto's UDA.

The Nation has established that Dr Ruto has devised a grand plan to lock out all the Mois or their 'projects' in Nakuru and Baringo counties, keen to wipe out the remaining traces of Kanu.

As Moi's youngest son, Baringo Senator Gideon Moi, is not interested in defending his seat, the UDA aspirant, Baringo North MP William Cheptumo, will have an easy sail. Kanu is yet to field a candidate for the seat. If it does, it will make the race a major battle between the independence party and UDA.

In Baringo, DP Ruto has also fielded candidates to whittle down the Moi family’s influence.

Philip Moi, 59, a retired army major and Moi’s fourth son, has also found himself battling a court case following his dramatic divorce from his Italian wife Rossana Pluda in 2008.

His divorce case went all the way to the Court of Appeal. After losing, he was ordered to pay Sh2.8 million in costs to his former wife.

Last year, he escaped prison for contempt after failing to settle the debt. The court released him after it emerged that he had paid part of what he owed.

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