Moi's grandson jailed for contempt of court in child support case

Former President Daniel Moi's grandson Collins Kibet has been sentenced to 7 days in jail for contempt by a Nakuru court in a child support case filed against him.

In a ruling delivered on Thursday evening, Nakuru Principal Magistrate Kipkurui Kibelion directed that Kibet be remanded at the Nakuru GK Prison for failing to obey court orders to support his two children.

Magistrate Kibellion further directed the complainant's lawyers to calculate the outstanding amount that Kibet is supposed to pay to support his children and serve the defense lawyers within three days.

The case was set for mentioning on September 26, 2024 to confirm compliance.

Kibet was arraigned in court early Thursday following his arrest in Ongata Rongai, Kajiado County, on Wednesday.

He is accused of failing to provide for the upkeep of his children with estranged wife, Gladys Jeruto Tagi. He had allegedly been on the run for months before his apprehension.

During the hearing, Tagi, through her lawyer Elizabeth Wangari, urged the court to commit Kibet to civil imprisonment for defying court summons in regards to the matter.

"The warrant of arrest related to disobedience of the lawful decree was issued by this court on June 2, 2022. To date, there is no compliance with the said decree," Wangari argued.

"Upon being notified that the defendant had been availed at Nakuru Central Police Station yesterday, I visited the station with an aim of seeing whether we will be able to agree with the defendant on compliance with the court decree. Unfortunately, our efforts bore no fruits."

She further stated that Kibet failed to support the children’s enrollment at Mustard Seed International School, disrupting their education and subjecting them to mental anguish.

However, Kibet’s lawyer requested that the court grant him additional time to comply, explaining that he is facing significant financial challenges, along with ongoing succession disputes regarding his father's and grandfather's properties.

"Collins has never been issued with any summons or informed that there were warrants of arrest against him. We are not sure of the amount because we got wind of this yesterday but unconfirmed reports indicate that the requested child support is in the millions," said the advocate.

"Our client has no source of income. His inability to pay millions of shillings is not intentional but actual inability. It is in the public domain that Collins is embroiled in succession matters in regards to his father's estate, the late Jonathan Moi, and his grandfather the late President Daniel Moi."