The Environment and Lands Court in Eldoret has handed Eunita Kibor, the youngest wife of the late Rift Valley politician Jackson Kibor, a significant legal victory in a succession battle that has gripped the family for years.
Justice Emmanuel Washe ruled that Eunita stands as the rightful executor of Kibor’s estate, valued at over KSh 3 billion, and will carry out that role alongside the deceased’s former lawyer, Jonah Bundotich.
What the children alleged against their stepmother
At the heart of the dispute are more than 16 of Kibor’s children, who challenged Eunita’s position, claiming she relied on a forged will to secure the bulk of the estate for herself and her four children.
The children raised several specific grievances, including that she had been collecting rent from a prime commercial building in central Eldoret without sharing proceeds with the rest of the family.
They also alleged she illegally took possession of the more than 320-acre Mafuta Farm in Moiben sub-county, Uasin Gishu County, following their father’s death.
Matrimonial homes in Chepkoilel on the outskirts of Eldoret and in Kabebes along the Eldoret-Ziwa highway were also listed among the contested properties.
Justice Washe, however, found a critical legal flaw in the children’s argument.
He pointed out that under the law, any complaint about fraudulent documents used in estate transactions must be raised by the legal executor of the estate, not individual heirs.
He advised the children that if they wished to challenge Eunita’s position, the appropriate step was to pursue the correct legal channels to have her replaced.
Eunita’s version of events
Taking the stand in her own defence, Eunita told the court she acted only as a trustee of the Eldoret commercial building on behalf of her four children.
She testified that Kibor had personally endorsed her appointment as executor before his death, and she described the hardships her household had endured, including being evicted from Mafuta Farm, which she said Kibor had transferred to her while he was still alive.
Kibor died in March 2022, leaving behind an enormous portfolio of assets. His landholdings spread across Uasin Gishu, Nandi, Trans Nzoia and Nakuru counties, totalling hundreds of acres of prime agricultural land.
He also held commercial plots in Eldoret, Nakuru and Nairobi, shares in blue-chip companies, multiple bank accounts, and various other movable and immovable assets. He is survived by four wives and 27 children.
