Seven days after the death of former Lands Commissioner Elisha Chebii Chesiyna, grief within his family quickly turned into a bitter court battle over where he should be buried.
What began as a disagreement over funeral arrangements and burial site would later expose deep divisions within the family, claims of exclusion, accusations of greed, and an explosive succession dispute over an estate valued at more than Sh600 million.
Nearly six years later, the succession dispute surrounding the former lands commissioner’s estate remains one of the most bitter family inheritance battles to emerge in Nakuru.
Behind the court filings and legal jargon lies a fractured family still battling over the legacy of a powerful man whose death exposed painful divisions that had long simmered beneath the surface.
Chesiyna died on June 17, 2020, while undergoing treatment at MP Shah Hospital in Nairobi. As relatives mourned the influential former public servant, a legal fight erupted between his widows and children over who would control both his burial and his vast wealth.
On June 24, 2020, Christine Targok Chesiyna, who described herself as the deceased’s eldest wife, moved to court alongside her daughters Jebet, Jerono, and Amanda.
In court papers, Christine accused her co-wife, Susan Chepkurui Kimosop, and three male relatives of sidelining part of the family from funeral arrangements.
She claimed the group had formed a burial committee without consulting her and had unilaterally decided to bury Chesiyna at the family’s Kiamunyi farm in Nakuru County.
Christine insisted that the late commissioner’s wishes and Kalenjin customs dictated that he be buried at Nyota Farm in Molo Sub-county, where she said his main home and elder family were based.
“My husband wished to be buried at Nyota Farm, and not Kiamunyi,” Christine stated in her affidavit.
She further accused the other side of ignoring her role as the eldest wife and excluding her children from decisions surrounding the burial.
According to the court documents, announcements had already been aired indicating that the burial would take place at Kiamunyi Farm on June 26, 2020.
Christine argued that proceeding with the burial there would violate both the deceased’s wishes and Tugen/Kalenjin customary law.
She also accused Susan of using influence to push through the burial plans.
“We pray that the burial be stopped until the family can agree on how and where it will be done,” she pleaded before the court.
The court eventually intervened and ordered that Chesiyna be buried at Nyota Farm in Molo. Both sides were directed to jointly organise the funeral.
But the burial dispute was only the beginning.
After Chesiyna was laid to rest, a new war erupted, this time over his multimillion-shilling estate.
Susan and her stepson, Ruto Chesiyna, on July 30, 2020, petitioned the High Court in Nakuru for letters of administration, seeking authority to manage the estate.
In their petition, they stated that the former commissioner had been survived by two widows, Christine Targok Chesiyna and Susan Chepkurui Kimosop, and 17 children. Christine died on December 17, 2023.
The court documents listed a sprawling empire of land, vehicles, shares, and bank accounts spread across Nakuru, Baringo, and other parts of the country.
The estate included parcels of land in Molo, Menengai, Kabarnet, Mogotio, and Nairobi, as well as shares in KCB Bank and funds held in Equity and Credit Bank accounts.
The assets were estimated to be worth Sh600 million, with liabilities amounting to about Sh20 million.
A letter from the Kiamunyi chief, dated July 21, 2020, supported the claim that Chesiyna had two widows and 17 children.
But another letter from the Kangemi Location chief, dated August 11, 2020, painted a different picture.
That letter stated that the former commissioner had three widows and 16 children.
The conflicting accounts would later open another dramatic chapter in the succession battle.
On June 4, 2021, Lucy Wanjiru Chege filed a cross-petition before the High Court, claiming she was Chesiyna’s second wife.
Lucy accused Susan and Ruto of deliberately excluding her and her children from the succession proceedings.
“I was not aware of the proceedings brought by the petitioners as they neither sought my consent nor informed my family,” Lucy stated in court papers.
She further accused the petitioners of misrepresentation and concealing material information from the court.
Lucy insisted she had been married to Chesiyna under Kalenjin customary law in 1984 and attached an affidavit of marriage signed jointly with the deceased.
The affidavit stated that the union had produced five children.
Her son, Elijah Kiplagat Chesiyna, also filed explosive affidavits supporting her claims.
He accused Susan and Ruto of greed, dishonesty, and concealing several valuable properties belonging to the estate.
According to Elijah, some beneficiaries had been deliberately omitted from the succession proceedings while several properties were either undervalued or left out entirely.
Among the properties he claimed had not been fully disclosed were large tracts of land in Menengai, Mogotio, Molo, Kabarnet, and Nairobi.
He also listed several vehicles, including a Prado, a Toyota Prius, a Nissan Navara, and a tractor, as part of the estate.
The affidavits also exposed bitter personal accusations within the family.
Elijah alleged that Susan had caused divisions within the household for years and accused her of manipulating the deceased against Lucy and her children.
He claimed DNA tests had once been demanded to establish paternity and further alleged that some children associated with Susan were not biological children of the deceased.
He even alleged that some beneficiaries feared violence and intimidation as the succession battle intensified.
Court filings further revealed claims that movable assets were disappearing from the estate while beneficiaries accused each other of attempting to sell property secretly.
Jebet Chesiyna, identified as the deceased’s eldest child, later filed her own application challenging Susan’s role in administering the estate.
In her affidavit, Jebet accused Susan and Rutto of dishonesty and failing to disclose the full extent of her father’s wealth.
She warned that the estate was being mismanaged and wasted as the legal battle dragged on.
“It is necessary to preserve the estate by clearly identifying the persons controlling the numerous properties listed for preservation and benefit of the beneficiaries, some of whom rely on the estate for their livelihood, and the prolonged process is causing financial hardship,” she stated.
“The petitioners, together with unscrupulous people unknown to the beneficiaries, have embarked on a selling spree of the deceased’s property,” she told the court.
Jebet claimed some beneficiaries relied on income from the estate for survival and that prolonged disputes had caused financial hardship and conflict within the family.
She also accused individuals linked to the estate of intermeddling with the deceased’s property contrary to the Law of Succession Act.
The succession dispute is pending in a Nakuru Court.
