“I was four years old when my father died. I was raised by my mother and aunt. Before my mother's demise, she told me that my father’s estate included a house in Moons, a lorry, cash in an account, and a Peugeot car.”
These are the words of Abdullahi Mohamed, 54, who has been involved in one of the oldest succession cases in Mombasa with his siblings.
The case has finally been concluded after 48 years, with the Family Court directing that the wealth in question be distributed to its beneficiaries within 60 days.
The case, HC.SUC/40/1977, concerning the estate of businessman Abdulrahim Mohamed Mahdi Bajnaf, was registered in court two years after his demise. He died on December 9, 1975.
According to court records, the deceased left behind two sons, Said Abdulrahim, Abdullahi Mohamed and a daughter Alya Mohamed.
At the time of his death, the businessman was married to Zainab Mahdi, whose children are Said and Alya. Abdullahi alias Abdillahi, was his son from another woman, Ms Gamar Binti Ali Mahdi.
Following his death, his widow, Zainab, petitioned for letters of administration intestate. However, Gamar objected to the grant.
Two years into the dispute, both parties reached a consent, leading to the issuance of letters of administration to Zainab on December 4, 1979.
However, Zainab passed away before the grant could be confirmed.
In 2019, Mr Abdullahi filed a summons to revoke or annul the letters of grant issued to Zainab in 1979.
However, the application was not heard because, in January 2020, the grant was revoked by mutual consent of the parties.
The court then issued a new grant in the names of Mr Abdullahi and Mr Said, dated January 28, 2020.
A handwritten consent recorded in court allowed any party to apply for the confirmation of the grant.
Eight months later, Mr Abdullahi filed a summons for confirmation of the grant, seeking to finalise the administration of the deceased’s estate. He proposed that the estate be equally distributed among the beneficiaries.
Mr Said, through his advocates Omar Said & Co., also applied for confirmation of the grant but requested that the estate be distributed in accordance with Islamic law.
However, he later filed an affidavit of protest against the confirmation of the grant, arguing that Mr Abdullahi was not entitled to any share of the remaining estate since he had already received his inheritance.
“As Muslims, the estate ought to devolve to the beneficiaries in accordance with Muslim law rather than be shared equally as proposed in the summons,” he stated.
He further claimed that Mr Abdullahi’s share had been paid to his mother, and that Sh62,000 had been given to her to hold in trust for him.
“The delay was inordinate and inexcusable,” he stated.
Mr Said deposed that his mother survived the deceased and was, therefore, entitled to a portion of the estate amounting to an eighth of it while he would get twice what his sister was entitled to under Islamic law.
Mr Said further asserted that three witnesses could attest to the transaction where Mr Abdullahi’s inheritance was settled.
In his view, Mr Abdullahi was not entitled to any share at all.
However, Mr Abdullahi denied receiving any inheritance through his mother.
He called witnesses who defended him, arguing that the alleged witnesses to the transaction were too young at the time to be considered credible.
On his part, Mr Said denied ever instructing for the grant to be revoked
However, when presented with documents containing his signatures consenting to the revocation, he became evasive.
Nevertheless, he maintained that Mr Abdullahi’s share was settled through a cheque given to Gamar at an office.
“The cheque was issued for the benefit of the child in satisfaction of his inheritance,” he stated.
In a ruling dated February 6, which finally closed the case after 48 years, Family Division Judge Gregory Mutai found no evidence that Mr Abdullahi’s share had been given to his mother.
He stated that the documents submitted to support these claims contained scanty information and did not confirm any actual payments. Instead, they only suggested a promise of future payments.
“I am inclined to believe Mr Abdullahi. He appeared credible. His testimony that he worked as a porter at Old Kilindini Port does not reflect what one would expect of a trust fund child living off interest from a fixed deposit account,” said the judge.
The judge dismissed the protest and proceeded to confirm the grant issued on January 28, 2020.
Further, Justice Mutai ordered the Chief Kadhi to determine each party’s share under applicable Islamic law within 60 days.
