Student Maureen Chepkirui Demands Child Support From Governor Mutai

A fourth-year student at Kabianga University in Kericho County filed a court case this September against the county leader after she said he fathered her one-year-old child and then cut every form of contact. The student demands support from Governor Erick Mutai for the infant’s upkeep while she continues her studies and raises the child alone.

Maureen Chepkirui stands firm in her claim. She says Governor Mutai fathered the child. She says he then blocked her on every platform and vanished. The young woman now pursues monthly payments through the courts in Kericho. She seeks Sh 200000 each month.

The child is one year old. Court papers identify the infant as G.C. Judges have already ordered her to grant the governor access to the girl. A separate bid to speed her maintenance application failed on 18 September 2026.

The case lands on a leader who has faced repeated political storms. Kericho voters elected Dr. Eric Mutai in 2022. He defeated heavyweights in the UDA primaries and took the governor’s seat. County assembly members later tried to remove him twice.

Both attempts collapsed in the Senate over procedural thresholds. The latest assembly vote came in August 2025. Senior lawyer Elisha Ongoya led the case against him then. Ongoya told senators the county assembly viewed Mutai as a man of bad behavior.

He pointed to alleged fictitious payments and misuse of public funds. Many people dismissed the lawyer’s sharp words at the time. The new personal claim now forces fresh attention on the same leader.

Chepkirui attends Kabianga University as a fourth-year student. The campus sits in Kericho County. She balances classes with sole care of the toddler. She argues the governor has refused protection and maintenance.

She argues he has left every need unmet. Court filings state she seeks full parental responsibility from him. The amount she names matches the figure circulating widely since the suit became public on 19 September 2026.

What amount does the university student seek each month from the county leader?

She seeks Sh 200,000 every month for the child’s food, medical care, shelter, and other needs. That figure appears in the papers she filed. Kenyan children’s courts often weigh parental means against a child’s actual costs. Mutai holds the highest elected office in Kericho. His salary and allowances sit in the public record.

Chepkirui remains a student. She carries the daily load of feeding clothing and housing the one-year-old. The court has not yet ruled on the monthly sum. It has only required her to allow access while the main case proceeds. Separate proceedings continue side by side in Kericho courts.

Local residents follow every development. Kericho remains a tea-rich county with strong political traditions. Mutai rose from a teaching career. He studied education at Maseno University and then completed further degrees. He lectured before entering politics.

How has the governor responded to the child support case so far?

Public records show only that courts have ordered access for him while declining to fast-track the maintenance claim. No detailed public statement from Mutai on the paternity claim has appeared in open reports. Court orders confirm the existence of two linked cases. One concerns access to the child. The other concern is monthly payments.

Judges have balanced the rights of both parents and the best interests of the infant. Chepkirui continues her studies at Kabianga while the legal process moves forward. She maintains that the governor disappeared after the birth. She maintains that every digital path to him is closed. She maintains that the child needs steady support now.