Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o and his sister Risper Nyagoy have been found guilty of contempt of court after they failed to comply with orders.
Justice Tripsisa Cherere had in October last year ordered Nyong’o and Nyagoy to include all the children belonging to their sisters as beneficiaries to their father's Sh200 million estate.
On Thursday, Cherere said Nyong'o and the sister were guilty of contempt of court. They will be sentenced on May 28.
Nyong'o and Nyagoy are locked in a property dispute with two of their nephews.
The fresh development follows an application by the nephews seeking a six-month jail term for the governor and his sister for contempt of court.
Kenneth Okuthe said Nyong'o and Nyagoy failed to comply with a court order to include them as beneficiaries to their grandfather's estate.
Immediately after the Thursday ruling, Nyong'o's lawyer Jefferson Museve made a fresh oral application, asking the judge to stay her October orders until an appeal filed by the governor is heard and determined.
Cherere rejected the application, saying Nyong'o and the sister had refused to obey court orders.
In the October orders, Cherere also revoked the administrative letters and certificate of confirmation of grant that placed Nyong'o and Nyagow as the controllers of the estate. The court appointed one of the nephews as a co-administrator of the estate.
The judge also asked the governor and his sister to provide books of account for their father’s property including 100 acres of land in Miwani and flats on Jogoo Road in Nairobi. Other plots are in Tamu, Milimani, Manyatta and East Rata in Seme, all within Kisumu county.
The governor and his sister had challenged appealed Cherere's directive but failed to get orders to suspend it hence the contempt suit.
The nephews, Okuthe and Geoffrey Omondi sued the governor and his sister for leaving out some of their relatives from the list of beneficiaries.
The nephews said they were entitled to inheritance because they grew up under the care of the patriarch.
Nyong'o and Nyagoy failed to make final submissions before the October order was issued. They had initially dismissed the case, saying it was incompetent and intended to paint the family in bad light.
Edited by Peter Obuya
