Big Win For Lawyer Philip Murgor After Court's Key Directive

The family of the late former Rift Valley Provincial Commissioner Charles Murgor can afford to rest easy after a 24-year long property dispute was brought to a grinding halt last weekend.

The Daily Nation reported on Sunday, September 22, that efforts to mediate outside the court had borne fruits after three years, with the excluded Murgor family finally being allowed to partake in their father's estate.

The family is alleged to have opted for mediation after a recommendation by the presiding judge Hellen Omondi at the High Court in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu county, urging them not to soil their father's name with unnecessary wrangles.

Philip Murgor's family at the high court in 2016. They had launched a case in court, seeking orders compelling the rest of the family to include them as beneficiaries to their father's property.

“As we start this case remember the Murgor name is reputable. My advice to you is not to expose private family affairs to the public through the media. Think of mediation,” justice Omondi had stated in 2016.

Charles Murgor was reported to have been polygamous, having married four wives; Selinah Kimoi (five children), Hannah (two children), Christine Chebor (six children) and Dinah Chepkoech (four children).

After his death 24 years ago, his multi-billion shilling estate was allegedly shared amongst his 3 wives, excluding Christine Chebor and her children, Philip Murgor being the first-born.

The family is then reported to have moved to the high court to challenge their exclusion before the judge sent them to the negotiating table.

The Daily Nation reported that the family finally agreed to share the property equally amongst each other, regardless of gender, after a 12-hour deliberation last week.

Also part of the agreement reached during the tense negotiations was that a 1400 acre farm located in Moiben, Uasin Gishu County be removed from the list of their father's property as it was Chebor's sole property.

The process was led by accredited mediator Dennis Magare and involved former Director of Public Prosecution Philip Murgor, a lawyer and a relative of the parties in dispute.

Lawyer Philip Murgor with his brother.

EDITORS NOTE: A previous version of this article incorrectly referred to a partner at Philip Murgor's law firm as his brother. This inaccuracy has since been corrected.

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