Succession Battle for Nandi Tycoon’s Sh300 Million Estate Takes New Twist as Two Trustees Arrested Over Forged Chief’s Letter
The elderly trustees were arraigned at the Eldoret Law Courts on Monday and charged jointly with fraudulently uttering a forged document.
Photo: Courtesy.
By Robert Mutasi
The bitter succession battle surrounding the multi-million shilling estate of the late Nandi businessman and farmer Bernard Chirchir Murei has taken a dramatic new twist following the arrest of two trustees who were managing his vast empire.
The estate, which is spread across Uasin Gishu and Nandi counties and includes large tracts of land under tea and maize, dairy cows, commercial buildings and rental plots, is valued at more than Sh300 million.
The trustees, identified as Julius Kiprotich Tanui and John Kipchirchir Birgen, were apprehended at Chemuswoi and Kurgung villages respectively in Nandi County following a tip-off from one of the late tycoon’s sons, Alfred Murei.
Murei is said to have reported to police in Nandi about the alleged forgery of a chief’s letter linked to the two trustees which they were using as part of their evidence in the succession case pitting him against his five sisters.
The succession case, which is currently before the High Court in Eldoret, is yet to be determined.
The elderly trustees were arraigned at the Eldoret Law Courts on Monday and charged jointly with fraudulently uttering a forged document.
According to court documents, the duo allegedly uttered a forged letter purporting it to be an introductory letter written and signed by a chief for the purpose of the ongoing succession case in the estate of the late tycoon. The offence is alleged to have been committed on September 28, 2023.
They denied the charge when they appeared before Senior Resident Magistrate Beatrice Toroitich.
In her ruling, the Magistrate granted each of the accused persons a bond of Sh100,000 or an alternative cash bail of Sh20,000 to secure their freedom pending trial.
“I grant each of the accused persons a bond of Sh100,000 or cash bail of Sh20,000 each,” Toroitich ruled.
She set the hearing of the matter for December 1, 2026.
The late tycoon died on July 17, 2023, at St. Luke’s Hospital in Eldoret, leaving behind his wife, Divine Chemutai Chirchir, and seven children — two sons and five daughters. Since his death, his children have been embroiled in a bitter fight over the distribution of his vast empire.
At the centre of the dispute is a contested Will. The deceased’s two sons, Alfred Murei and Flicky Kiprotich, have dismissed the Will as a forgery, while their five sisters maintain that it is a genuine document authored by their father before his demise.
The sons have accused their sisters of using the purported Will to lock them out of the running and management of their father’s estate.
“To the best of our knowledge, our father passed away leaving his property intestate contrary to claims by our sisters that he left behind a will,” avers Alfred in court filings.
According to Alfred, the validity of the said Will dated November 27, 2020, purporting to have been written by the deceased, was procured through fraud and coercion.
But the tycoon’s daughters, led by Emily Chirchir, have dismissed as untrue claims by their brothers that their father died without leaving behind a Will.
“Our late father left behind a will showing how he wanted his estate to be distributed among the beneficiaries. In fact, he had full mental capacity and was of sound mind by the time he was writing the will,” argued Emily.
The High Court succession case continues, even as the criminal case against the two trustees proceeds separately before the lower court.
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