A battle over the late President Mwai Kibaki’s multi-billion estate has turned into a courtroom drama, pitting his known children against two individuals who claim to be part of his bloodline.
At the center of the storm is Jacob Ocholla, a man who says he is Kibaki’s biological son and is now challenging the validity of the former president’s Will.
He alleges that the Will was forged and wants it nullified so he can be recognized and considered in the distribution of the estate. Kibaki’s children, however, are having none of it.
Fights Over Kibaki Will Intensify as Family Dismisses Forgery Claims
The family of Kenya’s third president has closed ranks to defend his last Will, which was signed on December 23, 2016. Led by Judith Wanjiku Kibaki, the children want the High Court to throw out Ocholla’s application, describing it as baseless, speculative, and built on inadmissible evidence.
According to court filings, Ms Kibaki says Ocholla’s allegations are grounded on hearsay and lack the backing of a qualified handwriting or forensic document expert. She argues that the application is not only flawed in law but also an abuse of the court process.
The key witness supporting Ocholla’s claims is a woman identified as Ms JNL, who also says she is Kibaki’s daughter. However, Ms Kibaki has poked holes in her credibility.
“The deponent of the affidavit, Ms JNL, is not a handwriting expert. She is not a lawyer or forensic examiner. JNL has no qualifications to question the Will’s authenticity,” Ms Kibaki stated in her submission. She further argues that Ms JNL’s opinions do not meet the legal threshold required to question a document of such legal weight.
Ocholla’s legal team had cited alleged differences in Kibaki’s signature as seen in public documents compared to the one appended on the Will. But the Kibaki family maintains that these observations are mere opinions and not expert findings.
Ms Kibaki accuses Ocholla of trying to muddy the legacy of the late president using unverifiable claims. She wants the court to focus on the actual contents of the Will and the law that governs succession and testamentary freedom in Kenya.
Questions Over Kibaki’s Signature and Legal Experts
One of the main pillars of Ocholla’s argument is the claim that the signature on Kibaki’s Will doesn’t match his other known signatures. He alleges that this discrepancy is evidence of forgery, possibly by individuals who wanted to lock out certain people from inheriting Kibaki’s estate.
Despite the serious nature of the allegations, no certified forensic expert has backed Ocholla’s claims. Instead, he leans entirely on the affidavit by Ms JNL. This weakens his case legally since the court requires expert opinion when documents are challenged on grounds of authenticity.
Ms Kibaki’s court response emphasized that the allegations do not meet the evidentiary standards. “You cannot ask a court to cancel a president’s Will just because someone believes the signature looks different. You need verifiable, expert-backed evidence,” her legal team argued.
Kibaki’s Will outlines how his wealth should be distributed among his known children and grandchildren. For this reason, the family says attempts to overturn the document are not only disruptive but also disrespectful to the late leader’s legacy.
Jacob Ocholla Claims Harassment and Threats Over Legal Action
Ocholla insists that he has every right to seek justice and recognition. He says that all he wants is a fair share of his alleged father’s legacy and an opportunity to be officially acknowledged.
In his words, the Will must be nullified if Kenya is to uphold truth and justice, even for those born out of the public eye. But the Kibaki family has pushed back hard against these demands. They have reiterated that only the law should guide inheritance, not emotional appeals or unsupported claims.
The case remains in court and is likely to continue drawing public attention as Kenyans watch to see how one of the most high-profile succession disputes in recent history will unfold.
