The battle for control of a Sh3.5 billion estate of colonial-era paramount chief Kibor Arap Talai took a new twist on Tuesday when an Eldoret court was told that the signature on the purported Will that he allegedly left behind was forged.
The contested Will outlined how his two widows were to share his property among his children.
The revelation about the authenticity of the Will was exposed by Chief Inspector Daniel Gutu, a forensic document examiner with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Nairobi when he testified before Justice Reuben Nyakundi.
Mr Gutu told the court that after analysing the signature on a specimen dated February 13, 2016, he ascertained that it was a sham.
To reach his conclusion, he said, he analysed pen movement, speed, natural lift and pressure, among other features.
The two widows – Tapyotin Talai, 84, who has since passed away, and Irene Talai, 54 – were embroiled in a court battle over control of his multibillion-shillings estate.
Trouble started when Talai died in 2012 aged 95 after a long battle with diabetes.
His first wife, Ms Tapyotin, went to court in 2013 to seek letters of administration to allow her and her five children to manage the properties spread across Uasin Gishu and Elgeyo Marakwet counties.
She had claimed that Ms Irene and her three children did not contribute anything to the acquisition of the estate.
Ms Tapyotin, before her demise, had also disowned as fake a Will that Ms Irene claimed was written by Talai that stated how his estate should be shared.
Her granddaughter Caroline Jepkogei has since taken over her place in the case.
Ms Irene also tabled in court a Will she claimed Talai left indicating how he wished to have his property shared.
“The deceased gifted me the prime land near Moi University on which stands several commercial business premises before he died. There is no way I will share it with his first wife,” she had told Justice Stephen Githinji, who heard the matter before he was transferred to Malindi.
Court documents show that Talai left over 1,500 acres of land in Kesses, near Moi University’s main campus, and a ranch in Lelan, Marakwet West, where he had planted trees.
Other properties include developed plots and commercial buildings on a 100-acre tract opposite the university. He also had another 1,600-plus acres of agricultural land in Kesses.
Justice Nyakundi adjourned the hearing until Friday. Four more witnesses, including a land registrar in charge of Elgeyo Marakwet County, are expected to testify. BY DAILY NATION