It was a moment of relief and triumph for Chepkoech Too, who has been recognised as the biological daughter of the late powerful KANU MP Mark Kiptarbei arap Too after a two-decade legal battle over his Sh7 billion estate.
The Eldoret High Court declared Chepkoech the late politician’s daughter in a verdict delivered by Justice Anuro Wananda, finally settling a long-standing dispute over her paternity. The case arose after one of Too’s widows, Sophie Too, disowned Chepkoech following the MP’s death ten years ago.
Chepkoech had sought a DNA test to prove her claim, arguing that Sophie refused to recognise her as a beneficiary of the deceased’s vast estate spread across several counties.
“The only way to resolve the issue of my paternity is to order a DNA test to enable me to get a share of my late father’s estate,” she stated.
During the proceedings, Sophie had acknowledged only two children born out of wedlock — Ali and Bakari — dismissing Chepkoech as a stranger to the family. Justice Wananda ruled in Chepkoech’s favour, citing DNA results obtained from the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), which confirmed she and Bakari are biological half-siblings sharing the same father.
Chepkoech is one of four children sired out of wedlock by Too, who died on December 31, 2016, at an Eldoret hospital aged 60. He left behind two widows, Sophie and Mary, and seven children between them. Too was buried at Sophie’s home in Sirikwa Farm, Kapseret Sub-county.
Mary, the first wife, has five children: Elizabeth Chepkoech, Moses Kiprotich, Jennifer Jebet, and Daniel Kipchirchir Too. Sophie has three: Sandra Jerop, Kevin Kipkemei, and Sharon Jepchumba Too. Out-of-wedlock children include Chepkoech, Ali Kiptarbei Mark, Arafat Mohammed Bakari, and the late Sammy Waki.
The estate, jointly administered by the two widows, comprises 19 farms across Uasin Gishu, Nakuru, Nandi, and Trans Nzoia counties, 10 tractors, 10 trailers, 11 vehicles, shares in six blue-chip companies, and numerous properties, including multimillion-shilling homes in Nairobi, Nakuru, and Eldoret.
