[2021] KEHC 2637 (KLR)
The court determined that, given the pending summons for revocation of grant and the allegations that some beneficiaries were excluded from the succession proceedings, it is appropriate to preserve the status quo to prevent further alienation or dissipation of the estate. The court emphasized the need for the...
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- [2021] KEHC 2637 (KLR)
- Parties
- Applicant: Applicants (spouse and children of the deceased); Respondent: Administrator of the estate of David Nyikuri Olwika
- Court
- High Court
- Court Station
- High Court at Kakamega
- Jurisdiction
- Kenya
- Case Number
- Succession Cause 473 of 1996
- Procedural Posture
- Succession Cause / Ruling on Interlocutory Application for Conservatory Orders Pending Revocation Hearing
- Outcome
- Status quo to be maintained pending hearing and determination of the revocation application.
- Judges
- DN Musyoka
- Legal Topics
- Succession Proceedings, Revocation of Grant, Estate Administration
- Source Language
- en
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
Applicants (spouse and children of the deceased)
Applicant
Administrator of the estate of David Nyikuri Olwika
Respondent
Procedural Posture
Succession Cause / Ruling on Interlocutory Application for Conservatory Orders Pending Revocation Hearing
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether conservatory orders should be granted pending the hearing and determination of the summons for revocation of grant.
- 2 Whether the parties excluded from succession proceedings are entitled to relief pending the revocation application.
Ratio Decidendi
The court determined that, given the pending summons for revocation of grant and the allegations that some beneficiaries were excluded from the succession proceedings, it is appropriate to preserve the status quo to prevent further alienation or dissipation of the estate. The court emphasized the need for the parties to prioritize the hearing of the revocation application rather than engaging in interlocutory applications that delay the final resolution of the matter. Accordingly, the court ordered that the status quo be maintained until the revocation application is heard and disposed of, and set the matter down for hearing.
Court Disposition
Status quo to be maintained pending hearing and determination of the revocation application.
Orders
- Parties to move with dispatch and dispose of the pending revocation application.
- Court to allocate a hearing date for the revocation application at delivery of this ruling.
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
14 paragraphs
REPUBLIC OF KENYA
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KENYA
AT KAKAMEGA
SUCCESSION CAUSE NO. 473 OF 1996
IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF DAVID NYIKURI OLWIKA (DECEASED)
RULING
1. The application that I am called upon to determine is the Motion, dated 19th July 2019. It essentially seeks conservatory orders pending hearing and determination of a pending summons for revocation of grant, dated 19th August 2014.
2. The grant herein was confirmed on 8th December 2010, and a certificate of confirmation of grant was duly issued, dated 21st December 2010. Transmission of the estate, apparently, did not happen in terms of the said certificate of confirmation of grant, and it would appear that it was the initiation of the revocation proceedings that threw a spanner into the works.
3. The summons for revocation of grant, dated 19th August 2014, was brought at the instance of individuals, who claimed to be a spouse and children of the deceased, who were left out of the succession proceedings. They accuse the administrator of selling estate property, even after confirmation, and of initiating the succession proceedings secretly, without involving them.
4. The revocation application was filed in 2014, and has been pending since. It is not clear to me why it has not been prosecuted. The parties should give it priority, instead of initiating these interlocutory proceedings which delay the matter further.
5. The orders that I feel constrained to make, are that the parties hereto are to move with dispatch and dispose of the pending revocation application. I shall allocate it a date for hearing, at the delivery of this ruling. In the meantime, the parties shall maintain status quo as at the date of this order.
DELIVERED, DATED AND SIGNED IN OPEN COURT AT KAKAMEGA THIS 29TH DAY OF OCTOBER 2021
W MUSYOKA
JUDGE