'I'm not a bad man, it's my sons pushing me'

In the heat of KANU politics of early 90s, veteran politician Jackson Kibor registered an investment company but only allocated himself five shares. In his wisdom, Kibor says he apportioned 15 shares each to six sons from his third wife, gave her five shares and left only five for himself.

“I was not in the right books with the political establishment at that time and I had to protect my investment,” he says.

He registered a company — Chelemei Ltd — and acquired a lot of property through it. But in an interesting twist, this vast wealth is now threatening to tear the family apart. Kibor spoke candidly to The Standard on Saturday about the goings-on.

“My third wife has six boys. One died and another one lives in the US. The remaining four boys who are with me here are the ones now threatening me with a panga,” says Kibor.

Kibor is facing charges over an incident early this month in which is accused of threatening to shoot his son Ezekiel Kipng’etich over land.

In another suit at the Environment and Lands Court, Eldoret, Kibor is accusing his six sons of trespassing on his Kabenes land and attempting to occupy it without his consent. Though frail, Kibor is determined to defend his property.

“The recent problems I had with these boys is on my 1,600 acres farm in Moiben. It’s divided into 800 acres on one side and 700 acres on the other,” says Kibor. The 82-year-old man breaks down as he narrates how his children have sold out property without his consent.

“I allocated them 180 acres—about 30 each—acres to till. I also bought them two big tractors that they could use to till the land. But they don’t farm; they leased out the land to neighbours and other people. They also sold one of the tractors and replaced the second one with a smaller engine machine,” said Kibor.

Kibor said he also gave the boys 60 dairy cows—about 10 each. “They sold those ones too.”

The farmer also claims he gave the boys three lorries and one trailer, which they sold.

Stole everything

“If they did business by now they would not be fighting me,” he says.

But the sons have denied all these claims. They claim that Kibor sub-divided the 1,250 acres and obtained title deeds in their names. This is the matter still pending at the Environment Court.

But mzee demands respect.

“Children must respect their father. We do not want many issues, just respect from children. The court will decide of the rest of issues.” said Kibor’s lawyer Paul Gicheru.

Kibor says an Eldoret-based lawyer is to blame for the current standoff facing the family.

“There is one lawyer who has been coaching these children and their mother. He is the one who has given them an idea of writing resolutions of the company with an aim of stealing everything,” he says.

“He (the lawyer) tells them that I cannot run the company because I only have five shares. The property is mine and they are edging me out.”

Kibor says the company no longer exists and the property is under his name. Following the family tiff, Kibor says his children have now taken to social media to paint him in bad light.

“They say I have married a young girl but I have not. I am still very strong. I drive myself. It takes me four hours from Eldoret to Nairobi,” Kibor says. The mzee says that after witnessing his children squander his property, he became smarter.

“These boys have children who are now my grandchildren. What will they give them if they squander all the property and they don’t work hard to get more?” he says.

“I will not give them any more... I will only distribute my wealth to their children—my grandchildren. And I will give even to the unborn as long as their wives are pregnant. I will write in their names but not in my sons' name,” he says.

Kibor says he has four wives—the first one has eight children, the second seven while the fourth has four children. To further complicate the matter, he accuses the police of taking sides on the matter.

“Before the chaos I went there (police station) for three days to ask for police protection to access my farm. I even knelt down and cried to be given security to access my farm, but the OCPD declined,” he says.

Eldoret West OCPD Samuel Mutunga says investigations into the incident are ongoing and also denied claims of bias. “There is no bias or favouritism and to me that is a family matter that should be handled and solved at a different level,” says Mutunga.