[2012] KEHC 4244 (KLR)
The court found that the grant of letters of administration intestate was improperly issued to Humphrey Mugo Macharia, who was neither an heir nor a dependant of the deceased. The application for confirmation of grant failed to include or notify the actual heirs, namely the children of the deceased. There was no...
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- [2012] KEHC 4244 (KLR)
- Parties
- Applicant: Humphrey Mugo Macharia; Respondent: Jessie Muthoni Wachira
- Court
- High Court
- Court Station
- High Court at Nairobi (Milimani Law Courts)
- Jurisdiction
- Kenya
- Case Number
- Succession Cause 2552 of 2007
- Procedural Posture
- Succession Cause / Ruling on Confirmation of Grant
- Outcome
- Application for confirmation of grant deferred; notice to be served on rightful heirs.
- Judges
- D Schofield
- Legal Topics
- Grant of Letters of Administration, Confirmation of Grant, Estate Distribution, Intestate Succession
- Source Language
- en
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
Humphrey Mugo Macharia
Applicant
Jessie Muthoni Wachira
Respondent
Procedural Posture
Succession Cause / Ruling on Confirmation of Grant
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether the grant of letters of administration intestate was properly issued to a non-heir.
- 2 Whether all heirs of the deceased were properly notified and included in the application for grant.
- 3 Whether the deceased's land was properly established as part of the estate.
Ratio Decidendi
The court found that the grant of letters of administration intestate was improperly issued to Humphrey Mugo Macharia, who was neither an heir nor a dependant of the deceased. The application for confirmation of grant failed to include or notify the actual heirs, namely the children of the deceased. There was no evidence that the land in question was registered in the deceased's name at the time of death, as no official search was filed. The purported list of survivors consisted of alleged purchasers, not heirs. The administrator had acted beyond his authority by selling estate property without proper confirmation or authority. The court directed that the application and hearing notice be...
Court Disposition
Application for confirmation of grant deferred; notice to be served on rightful heirs.
Orders
- The application and hearing notice must be served on the children of the deceased and their advocates.
- No further dealings with the estate property without proper authority.
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
23 paragraphs
REPUBLIC OF KENYA
IN THE HIGH COURT
AT NAIROBI
MILIMANI LAW COURTS
Succession Cause 2552 of 2007
IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF JESSE RONGAI WACHIRA (DECEASED)
RULING
The deceased, Jesse Rongai Wachira, died on 17th October 2000. He is said to have left registered in his name a parcel of land known as GILGIL/KARUNGA/BLOCK 4/62 in an area called New Ngecha.
Following a citation made to this court a Grant of Letters of Administration was made on 19th May 2010 to Humphrey Mugo Macharia, the citor. The deceased’s daughter, Muthoni Wachira, did not take trouble to respond or react to the citation save that the firm of M. N. Oonge & Co. Advocates had entered appearance on 9. 12. 2007 to the citation but took no further action in the matter after filing an affidavit sworn on 13. 12. 2007 by Jessie Muthoni Rongai in which the latter lamented that she had not been served with any application for Letters of Administration by the citor although she was the only person competent to apply for the Grant of Letters of Administration with her unnamed brother and sister.
The Grant of Letters of Administration intestate made on 19. 5.2010 to Humphrey Mugo Macharia came up before me for confirmation on 3. 11. 2011 when I reserved this Ruling.
I have observed that:
1. No official search of the Land No.L.R. Gilgil Karunga BL 4/62 (New Ngecha) has ever been filed and consequently, it has not been established if the said land was registered in the name of the deceased at the time of his death on 17. 10. 2010.
2. Save for the citor, the other heir to the Estate of the deceased were not reflected in the application for the Grant.
3. The Applicant Humphrey Mugo Macharia is not related to the deceased in any way and is not an heir or a dependant of the deceased.
4. Although the list of 36 persons is said to be of persons who survived the deceased, it is patent that the persons named therein were allegedly purchasers.
In the light of this, the application and a hearing notice must be served on the children of the deceased namely Jessie Muthoni Wachira and her brother and sister who are represented by a firm of advocates known as Messrs Oonge & Co. Advocates.
I further observe that the Administrator appears to have been selling the deceased’s land without authority to those who now claim to be entitled to share in the distribution of the estate.
Dated at Milimani Law Courts, Nairobi, this 22nd day of March 2012.
G.B.M. KARIUKI, SC
JUDGE
COUNSEL APPEARING
Mrs. P. M. Ndungu Advocate for the Administrator
Mr. Kugwa - Court Clerk