Fresh details from the custody battle between Pastor Victor Kanyari and Hiram Gitau, widely known as Tash, have laid bare just how contentious the fight over the late gospel singer Betty Bayo’s children became before a final ruling was handed down.
Court proceedings, captured in a selfie video of the judgement being delivered, show the judge worked through a series of key questions before arriving at a decision.
These included who was best placed to care for the children, who the children knew and lived with, and who had the financial ability to meet their schooling and daily needs. The court also took into account Kikuyu cultural customs raised by the respondent.
Tash’s KSh 1 million claim collapsed in court
Among the more striking details to emerge was that Tash had asked the court to order Kanyari to pay him KSh 1 million as reimbursement for the cost of raising Sky and Danny. He argued he deserved compensation for the period he cared for the children.
The court dismissed the claim firmly and on multiple grounds. Delivering the ruling in Swahili, the judge stated:
“Alie shitakiwa, anataka alipwe milioni moja hakuweza kutoa stakabadi zinazo onyesha kwamba alitumia iyo milioni moja na pia si koti ya madai bali ni koti ya watoto.”
In short, Tash could not produce a single receipt or financial document to show he had actually spent that sum.
The court further noted it is a Children’s Court, concerned solely with the welfare of minors, and not a forum for settling financial disputes between adults.
Tash also struggled to prove he had been paying fees at Woodcreek School. He submitted admission letters, but the judge ruled those alone were insufficient. Kanyari, by contrast, presented concrete financial transaction records to support his position. Reports indicate fee arrears at Woodcreek had reportedly reached as high as KSh 1 million.
Kanyari awarded full custody
The 16-page judgement concluded that Kanyari, as the biological father, was better suited to take full custody of the two children. The judge indicated he would not read the entire document in court, but made the final orders clear.
The ruling has stirred considerable emotion. A day before the judgement, Sky, one of the children at the centre of the case, made a tearful public appeal to President William Ruto, asking him to intervene so she and her sibling could remain in the home where their mother had raised them.
