Former president Daniel Moi’s grandson has lost his bid to settle a child support case out of court.
This is after the court declined to grant Mr Collins Kibet Toroitich Moi’s request to have the case filed by Ms Gladys Jeruto Tagi, the mother of his two children, arbitrated through mediation
His lawyer, who appeared before Resident Magistrate Benjamin Limo, requested to be allowed to engage Ms Tagi’s lawyer to see if they can reach an out of court settlement.
The lawyer told the court that Collins, whose paternity to the minors was confirmed through a DNA test, was willing to negotiate an out of court deal with Ms Tagi over the children’s support.
“Since my client is willing to take responsibility, I am sure we can sit down with the applicants’ lawyer to come up with proposals on how he is going to support the children,” said Collins lawyer.
His application was, however, opposed by Ms Tagi who accused Collins of being ‘insincere and mischievous’. Through her lawyer David Mong’eri, Ms Tagi claimed Collins' request is part of the tactic to drag the case.
According to Mr Mong’eri, Collins has been using every available opportunity to derail the matter which has been pending in court for close to a year.
The court heard that, despite confirming he is the children’s biological father, Mr Kibet has neither reached out to their mother nor offered them any assistance.
“He is not the best person for mediation because his actions portray him as a very mischievous person. He comes to court driving a Toyota Land Cruiser V8, takes lunch from one of the high end hotels in town and leaves without even greeting his own children in court,” said the lawyer.
Mr Mong’eri convinced the court to have the case proceed to hearing before it is determined by the court.
In the case filed before court in April last year, Ms Tagi accused Mr Kibet of abdicating his parental responsibility towards the children.
Ms Tagi said she sired the children with Mr Kibet during the four-year period that they lived together before parting ways in 2012.
She told the court that she has single-handedly taken care of the children’s needs for over ten years despite having no stable job.
Ms Tagi wants the court to compel Mr Kibet to pay Sh1 million monthly towards his children’s basic needs and maintenance.
Mr Kibet successfully applied for a DNA test to confirm his paternity to the children which turned positive.
Mr Kibet claimed he was jobless and was depending on friends and relatives for survival. Resident Magistrate Benjamin Limo fixed the matter for hearing on February 11.
