Jackson Kibor, Mark Too, William Murgor: Inside Rift Valley's billion-shilling succession wars

They bestrode the corridors of power and business like colossi. But their deaths ushered in unprecedented tensions and protracted battles over the sharing of their multimillion-shilling fortunes.

Controversies continue to trail many of Rift Valley’s wealthiest personalities to their graves as beneficiaries of their estates battle over inheritance in dramatic court contests.

In some cases, courts have ordered DNA tests to establish paternity and determine rightful beneficiaries.

From prominent farmer Jackson Kibor to influential political figures Mark Too and William Murgor, families once united under patriarchs whose authority was rarely questioned have been torn apart by disputes over the division of vast estates.

Days after Kibor died in Eldoret on March 16, 2022, the will he left behind was initially viewed as the silver bullet to the distribution of his estimated Sh16 billion estate.

Instead, it sparked a bitter succession battle at the High Court in Eldoret. The dispute intensified in 2024 after some of Kibor’s children asked the court to invalidate the will, claiming it had been forged and executed when their father was gravely ill and lacked the mental capacity to make such decisions. “At the time of purportedly making the will, the testator did not possess the required testamentary capacity, freedom from coercion, importunity or other influences,” the court heard.

The dispute pits the late billionaire’s youngest widow, Eunitah Kibor, against several of his 29 children, including Philip, Loice and Albert, who argue that the signature on the will cannot be relied upon in distributing the vast estate.

While supporting efforts to resolve the dispute through court-annexed mediation, Eunitah has defended the document, insisting it reflects her late husband’s wishes. “I am not against the mediation process. But we must respect the will of my late husband on how he wanted his estate to be distributed among all genuine beneficiaries,” she said.

One of Kibor’s daughters, Loice Kibor, also welcomed mediation. “As a family, we are not opposed to mediation. We are going to seek the court’s permission to resolve the matter through mediation,” she said, adding that the process would help preserve their father’s legacy and restore family unity.

At the heart of the dispute is an estate comprising more than 3,500 acres of agricultural land in Soy, Moiben and Kesses, commercial buildings, rental properties in Eldoret, residential homes, motor vehicles, tractors and bank accounts, among other investments.

For nearly a decade, the family of the late former Kanu nominated MP Mark Too has also been embroiled in a dispute over his estate, estimated to be worth Sh7 billion.

One of Too’s daughters, Chepkoech Too, sued the late politician’s widows, Mary Too and Sophie Too, seeking recognition as a beneficiary and a fair share of the estate following his death on December 31, 2016.

Last month, however, Justice John Chigiti adopted an out-of-court settlement filed by the parties at the High Court in Eldoret, effectively bringing the long-running dispute to a close.

The agreement followed negotiations in which the parties settled on the mode of distributing the estate, which comprises thousands of hectares of land in the Rift Valley and Nairobi, residential properties, company shares and other investments.

Under the consent agreement, Mary Too and Sophie Too recognised Chepkoech as a beneficiary of the estate. She will inherit 200 acres of prime agricultural land in Uasin Gishu County and receive Sh15 million from the estate administrators within 90 days in lieu of a house in Eldoret’s Elgon View Estate that had initially been allocated to her.

His estate includes expansive farmland in Kapseret, homes in Nairobi’s Muthaiga and Lavington estates, Milimani in Nakuru and Elgon View in Eldoret. He also owned 19 parcels of farmland in Uasin Gishu, Nandi, Trans Nzoia and Nakuru counties, several motor vehicles and interests in companies including Fanikiwa Limited, East Africa Investment Trust, Charterhouse Investment Limited, Kingsway Holding Limited, Jamala Holding Limited, Grad East Africa Limited and Bins (Nairobi) Limited.

Earlier this year, Justice Robert Wananda declared Chepkoech Too a biological daughter of the deceased after DNA analysis conducted at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) confirmed that she and Arafat Bakari Too are half-siblings. “A declaration is hereby made that Chepkoech Too is a biological daughter of the deceased based on the DNA results obtained from samples taken from her body against that of Arafat Bakari Too, a known child of the deceased,” Justice Wananda ruled.

Another succession battle has unfolded over the estate of former Kerio Central MP William Cherop Murgor.

Last year, the High Court in Eldoret ordered that all properties forming part of the late lawmaker’s multi-billion-shilling estate be professionally valued, sold and the proceeds shared equally among his 35 identified beneficiaries, including his widows and children.

The ruling dealt a major blow to some of Murgor’s sons, led by former Keiyo North MP Dr James Murgor, Francis Murgor and Collins Murgor, who argued that several properties had already been gifted to them by their late father and should therefore not form part of the estate. Justice Wananda dismissed their claims.

The court heard that the estate comprises 29 parcels of land spread across Uasin Gishu and Elgeyo Marakwet counties, including prime properties in Eldoret Municipality, Kaptagat, Sergoit and Kapkoi.

The Murgor family dispute has largely pitted the deceased’s sons against some of their sisters, led by Enid Murgor, who accuse their brothers of sidelining them during the distribution of the estate.

More than three decades after prominent North Rift farmer Kipyego Kogo Chepkwony died, another landmark succession dispute has reached the High Court in Eldoret.

Justice Reuben Nyakundi recently ordered DNA testing in a case that could significantly reshape the distribution of the late farmer’s vast estate.

The applicant, Edna Chepkoech Tanui, claims she is Chepkwony’s biological daughter through a relationship between the deceased and her mother, Rose Tanui.

She says she has watched her father’s estate being distributed for years while she remained excluded.

The estate administrators, led by the deceased’s widow, Veronica Jepsuge Chepkwony, dispute her claim, arguing that she has failed to produce credible evidence linking her to the deceased.

They also opposed compulsory DNA testing, saying it would violate the constitutional rights of the deceased’s surviving children and reopen a succession process concluded years ago.

However, Justice Nyakundi ruled that science offered the best opportunity to establish the truth. “The courts are for doing justice... and unearthing the truth and not for following age-old practices and procedures when new, better methods are available,” he added.

In Nakuru, allegations of forged documents, stalled investigations and institutional obstruction have cast a long shadow over the estate of former Nakuru mayor Joseck Thuo Ngeta, as beneficiaries continue to battle over his inheritance in court.

At the centre of the dispute are Susan Wanjiru Thuo and her son, Nixon, who say they have spent years seeking justice over what they believe is a forged will used in succession proceedings before the Nakuru High Court.

The two, through rights lobby group Gaplink International, petitioned Chief Justice Martha Koome in March this year, seeking her intervention to unlock what they describe as a prolonged legal deadlock.

Their complaint centres on the refusal by officials at the Nakuru High Court Family Division to release the original copy of the disputed will, which they say is critical evidence required by investigators conducting criminal inquiries into alleged forgery.

According to the family, the contested will contains numerous inconsistencies, including the inclusion of a beneficiary unknown to relatives, misspelt names of family members, omission of recognised heirs and signatures they claim differ from page to page.

They also question the accuracy of assets listed in the document, alleging that one property cited does not exist while shareholding figures in a resort were misrepresented.

Efforts by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to obtain the original document for forensic examination have, however, failed.

According to the petition, a government forensic document examiner indicated that only the original will could support a conclusive analysis.

Court officials allegedly directed investigators to seek the document through a separate application, which was heard by the same judge handling the succession proceedings. The court ruled that the original will would only be released after the conclusion of the succession case.

Although the matter was concluded in July 2025, the family says the document has still not been released.