Trader sues for Biwott's wealth

An Eldoret businessman has gone to court to stop the family of Nicholas Biwott from distributing and sharing his assets.

Biwott, once a powerful cabinet minister, died in July 2017.

Barnabas Kiprono alias Lodwar is claiming Sh6.7 billion from Biwott's estate. He has moved to the High Court to stop the family from sharing out the former minister's property pending the hearing of the claim.

Mr Kiprono named three commercial plots in Eldoret and another in Kwanza and Namanjalala in Trans Nzoia as some of the assets belonging to Biwott. They are all valued at more than Sh1 billion, he said.

Kiprono claims he loaned the politician Sh382 million on November 5, 2016.

The trader further claims he issued demands to Biwott for the payment of the Sh382 million and interest, but none was settled by the time the former minister died.

The businessman says demands to Biwott's estate to pay the loans and the interest, which he says have accrued to Sh6.7 billion, have not been settled.

Huge losses

Kiprono told Eldoret High Court Judge Ogla Sewe that if the family was allowed to share and distribute Biwott's assets, he would be prone to huge losses.

During the inter-parte hearing yesterday, Kiprono asked the court to issue interim orders stopping the distribution of the assets pending the hearing of his application.

“We came under the certificate of urgency because the defendant had filed summons for confirmation of grant of probate and there is real danger that the properties might be dealt with in a manner that is prejudicial to the plaintiff’s claim,” his lawyer argued in court.

In response, Biwott's family lawyers argued that they had not been alerted about the interim orders.

The family argued that Kiprono was neither a beneficiary nor a dependant of the former minister and as such could not purport to seek preservation of the former minister's estate.

The judge directed that the status quo of the estate be preserved pending further orders.

She gave the two parties involved in the case 14 days to file their submissions.

The matter will be mentioned on April 2.