Ruto defies Rigathi, vows to defend Nderitu's family in succession row

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President William Ruto on Sunday publicly weighed in on a succession dispute pitting the family of the late Nyeri Governor Nderitu Gachagua against his brother, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.

The intervention follows a petition by the Nderitu family requesting presidential intervention, alleging that the deceased's will was forged to defraud them of their rightful share of a Sh2 billion estate.

Speaking after a Palm Sunday church service in Naivasha, Ruto vowed to pursue justice for the family, despite pushback from his estranged former deputy, who warned him against meddling in family affairs.

"You can carry on with the insults, but what belongs to orphans and widows must be returned. There is no getting away with that," Ruto said.

"That hotel in Nairobi, the property in Kilifi, and other things taken from the bereaved family must be returned. I can take the insults as a man, but the widows and orphans cannot, and we will therefore defend them, even before God. Nobody will ill-treat them," he added.

Ruto's remarks appeared to be a response to statements by Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika, who had called for the protection of widowed women, arguing that failure to resolve the dispute risked setting a damaging precedent for families, particularly those of poor women.

In a local podcast appearance on Friday, March 27, Rigathi dismissed claims that he exploited his brother's deteriorating health to fast-track a will while Nderitu was receiving cancer treatment at a London hospital shortly before he died in 2017.

Rigathi maintained that the will was adopted by all 21 beneficiaries before a court of law, and that anyone contesting it must do so through the judiciary, not the Office of the President.

He also questioned why a document he said was being studied at the Kenya School of Law as a model would only now be challenged.

"The late Gachagua wrote a will and gave his property to everybody, not his wives and children alone. He included his two wives, four children, the two other women in his life and their children, and all his brothers and their children. In total, there were 21 beneficiaries," Rigathi said.

"He directed that all his properties be sold and the proceeds distributed to beneficiaries in a formula stipulated in the will. Some received 10 per cent, others five, two, or three," he added.

Rigathi insisted that the three executors of the will — himself, lawyer Njoroge Regeru, and the deceased's longtime friend Mwai Mathenge — strictly followed his brother's wishes.

The family dispute was also a central issue during Rigathi's impeachment in October 2024.