Not all family ties survive a Sh500 million inheritance battle.
An 84-year-old father has won a succession battle against his biological son, who had demanded a share of his grandfather’s wealth.
In the dispute, Jonah Rutto had demanded a portion of his paternal grandfather's Sh500 million estate, claiming he was an adopted son.
He also sought to be included as an administrator of the deceased's estate alongside his father, Philip Kutto.
Justice Reuben Nyakundi of the High Court in Eldoret, who heard the matter, dismissed Mr Rutto’s application to be included as an administrator of his grandfather’s estate.
Mzee Kireger Kutto, a prominent cereal farmer in Uasin Gishu County, died 19 years ago at the age of 99.
He was survived by four widows—Sarah, Rebecca, Mary, and Esther—and 27 children.
Mzee Kutto owned hundreds of acres of agricultural land and prime plots in Burnt Forest, Ziwa, and Sergoit in Uasin Gishu County.
Mr Rutto’s father, Mzee Kutto, and his younger brother Daniel Kiplagat were granted letters of administration to their late father's estate.
In his court papers, Mr Rutto accused his father of sidelining him in the distribution of the multi-million shilling estate, claiming he was an adopted son of his step-grandmother, the Mzee Kutto’s second widow.
Mr Rutto accused the administrators, including his biological father, of concealing material facts from the trial court in order to disinherit him.
He disowned his father during court proceedings, referring to him as a brother, and claimed that his grandfather had adopted him when he was still young.
He wanted the court to give him equal rights with his father to manage the estate of his grandfather, who died nearly two decades ago.
Mr Rutto, along with a woman identified as Anne Chepkorir, claimed entitlement to 80 acres of land forming part of the deceased's estate.
He argued that Mzee Kutto died intestate, leaving behind both adopted and biological children, and that he was among those raised by the deceased through his second wife, Rebecca, from childhood.
He claimed that the second widow, Rebecca, had no biological children and that his late grandfather had adopted him and intended to transfer the land to him before his death.
“We have been illegally and maliciously excluded as beneficiaries of the Mzee Kutto’s estate as his adopted children,” Mr Rutto said.
During the trial, Mr Rutto urged the court to consider his petition and issue appropriate orders, arguing that he risked losing his only source of livelihood and investment.
But his father, Mr Kutto, the eldest son of Mzee Kutto, told the court that at no time was his son adopted by the deceased, as alleged.
“I raised Jonah until he attained adulthood. As for the second objector, she is unknown to me as well as to the entire family of the late Kireger Kutto,” he told the court.
He added that, to the best of his knowledge, the applicant was never a child—adopted or biological— of the deceased tycoon.
He also testified that his stepmother, Rebecca, had only one child, Sarah Chemeli, and was never seen staying with any adopted child.
“When Rebecca died, her eulogy listed all her children, including step-children, and nowhere were Jonah and Chepkorir mentioned,” he said.
He told the court that Mr Rutto was his biological son and that Chepkorir was a stranger to the family.
“The two are not entitled to any portion of the deceased’s estate as they are neither children, beneficiaries, nor dependents of the deceased,” he said.
Mr Rutto faced another setback when Justice Nyakundi dismissed his application seeking the judge’s recusal from the matter, claiming he had lost confidence in the court.
In his verdict, Justice Nyakundi ruled that there were no substantial grounds to warrant his recusal, adding that the objector had failed to demonstrate any bias or prejudice that would impair the judge’s ability to fairly adjudicate the matter.
“In any event, the issues raised by the objector were already determined in the ruling delivered on October 11, 2024, and this court cannot sit as an appellate court over its own decision. Accordingly, the objector’s application is dismissed for lack of merit,” he ruled.
Justice Nyakundi further ordered that the costs of both applications be borne by Mr Rutto.
tominde@ke.nationmedia.com
