A portrait of William Chepkut, the former Ainabkoi MP who died in October 2022.
A succession dispute over the Sh400 million estate of former Ainabkoi lawmaker William Chepkut has landed in court, with two widows accusing the first wife of excluding them from succession and control of the assets.
Nearly four years after the death of the former MP, his multi- million-shilling estates have become the subject of a bitter legal battle pitting two widows against the first wife of the politician, with accusations of exclusion, asset concealment and attempted sale of property before succession is concluded.
With mediation efforts having failed, Dassie Ambassie and Betsy Birgen have moved to court, accusing Milcah Jepngetich of locking them out of the succession process and unilaterally dealing with estate assets.
Milcah Samoei, one of the three wives of the late William Chepkut, former Ainabkoi MP, during her late husband's burial service held at Kapsundei Primary School in Flax, Uasin Gishu County on October 18, 2022.
Chepkut, who lost his bid to retain the Ainabkoi parliamentary seat in August 2022 after running as an independent candidate, died on the morning of October 8, 2022, after collapsing at his Nairobi home. He had lost the seat to the current MP Samuel Chepkonga of the UDA party.
Court documents indicate that the late politician is survived by three wives - Milcah, Dassie, and Betsy, and six children.
The estates in question comprise several parcels of agricultural land in Uasin Gishu County, two hotels on the outskirts of Eldoret City, residential houses in Nairobi’s Riverside and Wetlands areas and several high-value plots in Eldoret worth millions of shillings.
After failed attempts at mediation among the widows, the succession dispute is now set for full judicial determination before the Eldoret High Court.
Through their lawyer Mr Ndegwa Kiroku, Dassie and Betsy told High Court judge Reuben Nyakundi that Milcah was in the process of selling a prime asset despite the succession case still being pending.
“We have been informed that the defendant has placed an advertisement for the sale of the Marriott Hotel along the Eldoret-Kapsabet highway, currently valued at Sh85 million. We kindly request orders to stop the sale of this property,” Mr Kiroku told the court.
"Out of order"
On the other hand, however, Milcah insists that the properties in question were jointly owned with her husband, and anyone else claiming a share was out of order.
Dassie alleged that Milcah had deliberately excluded the multi-million-shilling hotel from the official inventory of the late MP’s assets. The court was also informed that Milcah had previously sold a treatment plant in the Kaptagat area and allegedly retained the proceeds without involving other beneficiaries.
Mr Kiroku told the court that his client was experiencing serious financial hardship, particularly in meeting school fees for her two children and was seeking access to her share of the estate to support them.
The court heard that one of the children, who is transitioning to Grade 10, risks being sent home over unpaid fees, while the deceased’s parliamentary pension remains held at the National Assembly due to unresolved family disputes.
Eldoret Law Courts.
In a swift rebuttal, Milcah dismissed the claims as unfounded. Through her lawyer, Diana Ndirangu, she told Justice Nyakundi that she did not recognise Dassie and Betsy as beneficiaries, describing them as “strangers” who had no right to a share of the estate.
Milcah maintained that she was legally married to the late MP in a church wedding in Eldoret 28 years ago and that they had two children together. Ms Ndirangu also denied allegations that her client intended to sell the Marriott Hotel, terming them baseless.
“The properties I had with my husband were jointly acquired. For anyone else to come claiming a share is totally out of order,” Milcah told the court.
Justice Nyakundi has scheduled the next hearing for February 10, 2026.
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