Court orders Baringo family to appear before administrator office to solve land tussle
Courts
By
Yvonne Chepkwony
| Aug 21, 2025
A Baringo family embroiled in a decade-long fight over an 18-acre parcel of land has been ordered to appear before the Eldama Ravine Assistant County Commissioner to authenticate the genuine beneficiaries.
This was after the court observed that beneficiaries who are fighting over the estate of Kipkoech Kibirgen had not reached an agreement. Kibirgen died in 1989, aged 83, and was survived by four widows.
In 2010, his sons, Joseph Koech and Michael Koech, petitioned for grants, claiming that their father had six sons, a granddaughter, and a grandson.
His other sons, Daniel Kipkemoi and Edward Koech objected, claiming the petition was filed without the family's consultation, claiming the petitioners had excluded other children and grandchildren.
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Daniel and Edward accused their brother of illegally selling the disputed land, but Joseph claimed that the land was distributed according to the houses.
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In 2017, the court granted Joseph and Daniel a letter of administration to administer the estate. They subdivided the land into four portions, each 11.54 acres, but before finalizing the grants, Dorine Jerotich, Nancy Jepkorir, Solomon Cherogony, and Joshua Simotwo filed an objection claiming that they were not consulted, having bought part of the said land.
Michael and Jonah protested the grant, alleging that their father had divided the land into four portions and gifted Joseph, Michael, Jonah, and Daudi Koech, all brothers.
They claimed that Edward was not entitled to any share as he wasn’t their father’s child and that his father, Chebor Kibui, had given him land.
Michael and Jonah added that Daudi had sold his share to Jerotich, while Joseph sold his to Cherogony and Jepkorir.
Edward alleged that Kibirgen had divided the land among each household and had lived in said land to date.
He claimed that Kipkemoi’s father was the firstborn son of his late brother from the second house, who had died and was entitled to his father’s share.
The court had issued restraining orders against disposing of any part of the land.
Justice Heston Nyaga, in his ruling, observed that after the confirmation of grants, the protestors and objectors moved to court with their respective applications.
Regarding the objections by the alleged purchasers, the court noted that it was straightforward, as they claimed to have purchased the land in 2006.
“The deceased died in 1989. Therefore, the sale could not have been conducted by the deceased. The said purchasers bought land from some of the beneficiaries. As such, they said purchasers have no claim against the estate, but against the persons who sold them the land,” the court ruled.
The court noted that the parties should have provided full information to the court, questioning a letter written by their area chief stating only four beneficiaries as the children of Kibirgen and failing to disclose the number of wives.
The judge observed that the administrators should seek the local administrator of all the houses and Kibirgen’s children, following different letters with conflicting information.
The court heard that the family met with the deputy commissioner as agreed, waiting for a final meeting to finalize the agreement.
The case will be mentioned on October 29, 2025.
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