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The family of the late powerful Provincial Commissioner Isaiah Kiplangat Cheluget has been thrust into the limelight following President William Ruto’s promise to settle squatters on a 5800-acre piece of land owner by the late administrator, with today’s events adding another twist to the plot.
Behind the scenes, a legal battle that dragged on for several decades, family drama, legal disputes that linger on long after Cheluget died at the age of 86.
Who was Cheluget, how did he acquire the land in question and what are the legal battles and family drama that that live on several years after the once-powerful administrator breathed his last?
Humble beginnings & rise to prominence
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Born in 1931, Cheluget rose to become a leader in his community and beyond, rising to the level of a Provincial Commissioner.
He was an accomplished administrator who served under both former presidents Daniel Moi and Jomo Kenyatta in the provincial administration and steadily rose through the ranks to become an influential PC.
Cheluget was also a prominent businessman and a farmer who left behind a vast business empire.
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He passed on at Kisumu Aga Khan Hospital on June 26, 2017 where he had been admitted for treatment after a short illness.
At the time of his death, he was serving in the Kipsigis Council of Elders, Bureti chapter having retired from the provincial administration.
Burial halted by the court over land dispute
Even before his was buried, a legal tussle ensued as his brother, Wycliffe Kitur Cheluget took his widow to court to contest the ownership of the piece of land on which the former administrator was to be buried.
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In his bid to block Mrs. Rael Cheluget from burying her husband at the couple’s home, Kitur told the court that Cheluget forcefully built on a portion of the land that their late father had apportioned to him.
A court in Kericho halted his burial, certifying the matter as urgent. The former PC was eventually buried in his home in Litein, Kericho county.
How he acquired the land in question
In 1974, Cheluget was allocated 5800 acres of land in Narok South in an elaborate demarcation and adjudication process anchored in law and which has seen the courts rule that the land in question belongs to the late administrator in at least three cases.
Cheluget found his way into the corridors of the courts after squarters invaded the land, chasing away his workers and
“They forcibly kicked us out, subdivided the land and erected structures around 1999 and 2000. They stole and vandalised some of our property, drove away cattle and kicked workers out,” Johnstone Kipkoech the eldest son of the late Cheluget narrated.
Legal battles with squatters
The invasion was the genesis of a long legal battle that would continue even after the administrator’s death, going all through to the Court of Appeal with the family winning all through.
“That invasion kicked off a legal battle which we have thrice won in court, including at the High Court and the Court of Appeal. The courts have rules that the property belongs to our late father,” Kipkoech added.
The latest ruling was delivered on June 11, 2024 with 600 squatters losing their appeal at the Environment and Lands Court.
Judge Mbogo Gitonga ruled that the land belongs to the late administrator, directing that the 600 squatters have no legal claim to the property and have inhabited it illegally.
Despite the court ruling, the family has been unable to access the land due to hostility from the inhabitants who are wary of visitors and rough up anyone who steps into the land, including journalists.
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Such has been the situation until earlier this week when the family was thrust to the limelight with President Ruto stating that he had engaged the Cheluget’s family with a view of purchasing part of the land to settle squatters.
Family thrown into drama
A section of the press was quick to run with the story that Cheluget had died in 2017 and there was no way that the President could have engaged him.
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Matters took a fresh twist when Moses Kipkirui Cheluget who claimed to be the deceased administrator’s son dismissed President Ruto’s claims of having engaged the family and threatened to sue him.
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Moses claimed that the estate had no signatory at the moment as a succession case was ongoing to determine the signatory
Before the dust could settle, Cheluget’s family addressed the press noting that Moses’s case seeking to be recognised as Cheluget’s son was dismissed in 2017 and the succession case settled conclusively by the High Court in Kericho and confirmation of the grant issued on June 12, 2018. 2018.
“Mr. (Moses) Cheluget previously filed a case in 2017 seeking to be recognised as the biological son of the late Isaiah Cheluget. However, his petition was dismissed by the High Court, which declined his request for DNA testing via exhumation, citing procedural and cultural grounds,” the statement read in part.
“As a result, Mr. Moses Cheluget is a stranger to this process and is not legally recognized as a beneficiary or administrator of the estate. His current actions have no legal standing and appear to be an attempt to derail a lawful process being conducted by the rightful estate representatives,” added the statement issued by the family.
They further confirmed that their late father had indeed reached out to the government to amicably settle the matter, confirming that they are continuing in the same path.
“The family of the late Isaiah Kiplangat Cheluget has been in ongoing discussions with the President’s representatives, including the PS for Lands, the Governor of Narok, and the Director for Settlements, to ensure an amicable resolution,”
With rival factions emerging to lay claim to his vast wealth, the matter is likely to end in yet another court battle for the family that has had to walk through the corridors of courts.