Billionaire Biwott picked ‘trusted’ lawyer to execute will

Two lawyers and an employee of Yaya Towers Nairobi hold the key to the late powerful politician Nicholas Kipyator Biwott’s multi-billion shilling estate.

The late business mogul picked his long-time Desterio Oyatsi, Kenneth Wooler Keith and Elizabeth Klem as executors of his will and trusted them with details of a business empire he built for decades.

Through the law firm of Messrs Dally and Inamdar Advocates in Nairobi, the three have filed a petition at the High Court, seeking a grant of representation to the late politician’s estate on grounds that they are executors of his last will. This is also in a gazette notice that was published on February 23.

Even in death, Biwott alias ‘Total Man’ who died on July 11, is determined to keep secret details of his estate.

He prepared his last will on January 19, 2017. The document has details of what he owned at the time of his death including heirs.

“We will faithfully administer according to the law all the estate which devolves upon and vests in personal representative of the deceased and we will render a just and true account of such estate whenever required by the law so to do and we will when required by this court to deliver up thereto the said grant,” the petition filed in December reads in part.

Biwott named Oyatsi, who has fought for him legal battles to be part of the team to execute his last wishes.

From defending the late politician in defamation cases to cutting business deals, Biwott seems to have developed confidence and trust in his lawyer, to have named him as one of the executors of his will.

Expanded his business

The lawyer defended Biwott against claims touching on former Foreign minister Robert Ouko’s murder, with some of the cases leading to the politician being awarded tens of millions of shillings by the courts.

He sued British journalist Chester Stern and others for linking him to the Ouko murder in a book titled Dr Iain West’s Casebook and the court awarded him Sh30 million. Biwott also sued a bookshop that stocked the books and was awarded Sh10 million.

When the Kenyan Kroll report stated that Biwott had commercial interests in Israel and Australia, it is Oyatsi who made it clear that his client had no such interests outside Kenya or ever owned a ranch in Australia. Keith is a lawyer practicing in Nairobi while Klem is the Yaya Towers Nairobi Managing Director and was recently appointed to the Kenol Kobil board. Biwott, who was was born in 1940 served in the Government during the regimes of presidents- Moi, Kibaki and the late Jomo Kenyatta.

He worked closely with his father Cheserem Soti to build the family fruit and vegetable business that later on saw him become one of the most successful entrepreneurs in Kenya.

According to information on his website, he expanded his business using bank loans and later on formed ABC Foods that dealt with food and animal feed products. In the 1960s, he purchased a dairy firm and added two wheat farms in 1974. He was a major shareholder of Kenol Kobil and one of his companies own Yaya Towers.

When Biwott was serving as the Minister for Energy, Kobil acquired the assets of Mobil when it left the Kenyan market. Kobil later merged with Kenol that was being operated by his close Israeli friend Gad Zeevi.

Biwott joined the Government in 1965 as a District Officer and served in the Ministry of Agriculture before moving to the Treasury as a senior secretary. He also served in the Ministry of Home Affairs, as a Minister of State, Regional Development, Energy, East Africa Regional Co-operation, Trade and Industry. In January, a creditor moved to court seeking to be included as one of the administrators of Biwott’s estate over a Sh800 million dispute. Businessman Barnabas arap Kiprono said Biwott owed him Sh382 million plus interest accruing from six formal loans, at the time of his death.

Kiprono wanted Johana Catherine Biwott, Rhoda Biwott and Hannie Biwott, who he listed as the former Keiyo South MPs biological children and wife, to apply for letters of administration for the estate.

Justice Hilary Chemitei issued temporary orders barring the family from accessing the politician’s wealth until Kiprono’s case is heard and determined.