Eight years later, Kendagor's Sh360m estate finally divided

A wooden gavel. [Courtesy/GettyImages]

The High Court has finally resolved an inheritance dispute among the beneficiaries of the late farmer Elisha Kendagor’s estate after eight years of litigation.

Judge Julius Nangea distributed the estate, valued at over Sh360 million, between the two houses: the first house with 12 beneficiaries receiving Sh240 million, and the second house with six beneficiaries receiving Sh120 million.

Nangea noted that two valuation reports filed in 2024 agreed that the Sabatia property in Baringo was worth no more than Sh10 million. However, the reports differed on the valuation of the Kabarak property in Nakuru, with one placing it at Sh280 million and the other at Sh430 million.

“I have noticed a significant disparity in the valuation of the Kabarak property, a difference of Sh150 million. It is unreasonable for two experts to arrive at such a variance,” he ruled.

The judge therefore assigned the Kabarak property a monetary value of Sh350 million.

He ruled that the properties in Kabarak and Sabatia would be distributed according to the number of beneficiaries in each house. Since the first house had already taken the Sabatia land, the Sh10 million value would be deducted from its share of the Kabarak property.

“The two houses may buy out each other’s shares in the two properties for ease of distribution, failing which a licensed surveyor shall be appointed to subdivide the properties between the two houses while taking into account the assigned values,” Nangea directed.

He further ordered each house to agree on how to apportion its allocation. If they fail to agree, each member will receive an equal share, and subdivision will be undertaken by a surveyor.

The judge gave both houses until March 4, 2026 to complete the sharing and subdivision. By then, the administrators must have obtained a Certificate of Confirmation of Grant.

Acting with authority from her female siblings, Joyce Jebet filed an application accusing their male siblings from both houses of attempting to secure larger portions of the estate.

One of the administrators, Kiptui Ng’etich from the second house, responded that the first house wanted a larger share simply because they were more in number.

“The second house would be disadvantaged if distribution of the estate is based solely on the value of the properties,” he submitted.

Kendagor, who died on August 29, 2011, was survived by two widows—Emily Talai and the late Rosa Cheptoo—and 16 children; 11 from Talai and five from Cheptoo. He left a 51.48-acre farm in Kabarak, a 21.24-acre farm in Sabatia, and ancestral land in Baringo.

Talai’s son, Christopher Kiplagat, and Cheptoo’s son, Kiptui Ng’etich, moved to court after disagreeing on how the estate should be distributed. Kiplagat proposed that the land in Kabarak, Nakuru and Sabatia, Baringo, be shared equally among all 16 beneficiaries. In contrast, Ng’etich argued that each family should retain the land on which the deceased had settled them—Sabatia for the first house and Kabarak for the second.

The case will be mentioned on March 4, 2026.