Court now declares musician legal heir to tycoon's estate

After battling a succession case for more than five years, gospel musician Lwenda Alex Fernandez breathed a sigh of relief when the High Court in Eldoret declared him the son of the late prominent businessman and farmer, Michael Kiptoo Kebenei.

This made him a lawful heir to the deceased’s multi-million-shilling estate.

Justice Robert Wananda directed the administrators of Kebenei’s estate to include Fernandez, popularly known by his stage name King Clan B, in the sharing of the estate.

The estate consists of prime parcel of land in Kapseret, Uasin Gishu County.

The judge noted that the widow, Lilian Kebenei, and her three sons had fraudulently omitted the musician from the list of beneficiaries presented in court.

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The judge dismissed allegations made by the widow and her second-born son, Justine Kipleting—both administrators of the estate—who referred to Fernandez as a stranger to the family.

The judge highlighted that the evidence presented by Fernandez, the objector in the case, demonstrated that the widow and her children were well acquainted with him, having even supported him in raising funds for his wedding.

“In this case, after carefully studying the record, I find that the administrators were neither honest nor sincere in their denials of the objector’s status and in labeling him a stranger. They appeared evasive on several aspects, particularly regarding the monetary contributions made by the administrators for the objector’s wedding,” Justice Wananda stated.

The late Kebenei passed away in 2002 at the age of 36.

Justice Wananda referred the parties to Court Annexed Mediation to facilitate discussions for an amicable settlement regarding the share of the estate designated for Fernandez.

He added that Fernandez’s share should not necessarily be equal to the shares allocated to the other children of the deceased, considering that he had lived away from the family all his life and did not contribute to the estate’s status, including the acquisition of the 15-acre prime land he is now seeking a share of.

“The court, for the purposes of Section 27(a) of the Law of Succession Act, declares the objector to be the son of the deceased, Michael Kiptoo Kebenei.”  Read the ruling in part.

“If, after the 60-day Court Annexed Mediation window, the parties are unable to reach a settlement and no extension is granted, this Court shall proceed to rule on the share of the estate that the objector shall be allocated or entitled to,” the court ordered.

At the beginning of the case in 2020, the 40-year-old Fernandez requested the court to order the exhumation of the deceased’s remains for DNA testing to confirm his paternity.

However, the court dismissed this application, prompting him to advance his case by presenting five witnesses, including a family employee of the late Kebenei and his mother’s sister, who testified about the relationship between the deceased and Fernandez’s mother, who was a high school student at that time.“I cannot ignore the aggressive effort made by the objector in seeking orders for a DNA test to prove his paternity. “ The judge noted.

“Although the Court denied this request for being brought too late, the fact that the objector was confident enough to ask for such a test—despite the risk of a negative result demolishing his case—demonstrates his resolve and certainty that he is indeed a son of the deceased,” the judge remarked in his judgment.

Fernandez claimed in his court documents that he knew his father (the deceased) when he was very young and would visit him and his mother in Langas-Kasarani.