[2012] KEHC 5677 (KLR)
The court declined to approve the sale of one acre of estate land because the administrators had entered into a sale agreement without prior court authority and failed to demonstrate that the sale price was the best obtainable in the market. The court emphasized its duty to protect the interests of minor...
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- [2012] KEHC 5677 (KLR)
- Parties
- Applicant: Mary Wanjiru Kishoyan; Applicant: Reuben Kangethe Muchai; Respondent: Timothy Munene Kirima
- Court
- High Court
- Court Station
- High Court at Nairobi (Milimani Law Courts)
- Jurisdiction
- Kenya
- Case Number
- Succession Cause 1232 of 2010
- Procedural Posture
- Succession Cause / Ruling on Application for Approval to Sell Estate Property
- Outcome
- Application for approval to sell estate land declined; administrators to show cause.
- Legal Topics
- Administration of Estates, Sale of Estate Property, Protection of Minors, Court Sanction for Sale
- Source Language
- en
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
Mary Wanjiru Kishoyan
Applicant
Reuben Kangethe Muchai
Applicant
Timothy Munene Kirima
Respondent
Procedural Posture
Succession Cause / Ruling on Application for Approval to Sell Estate Property
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether the administrators can sell a portion of the estate land without prior court approval.
- 2 Whether the sale price of KES 1.8 million for one acre is the best obtainable price for the estate asset.
- 3 Whether the proposed sale is in the best interests of the minor beneficiaries.
Ratio Decidendi
The court declined to approve the sale of one acre of estate land because the administrators had entered into a sale agreement without prior court authority and failed to demonstrate that the sale price was the best obtainable in the market. The court emphasized its duty to protect the interests of minor beneficiaries and to ensure that estate assets are not disposed of at an undervalue or in a manner that could jeopardize the dependants' home. The administrators were called upon to show cause why they acted without court approval and to justify the adequacy of the proposed sale price.
Court Disposition
Application for approval to sell estate land declined; administrators to show cause.
Orders
- Approval to sell one acre of land from Title No. Ngong/Ngong/41630 is declined.
- Administrators to show cause why they sold without authority of the court.
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
22 paragraphs
REPUBLIC OF KENYA
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KENYA AT NAIROBI
MILIMANI LAW COURTS
SUCCESSION CUSE NO.1232 OF 201O
IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF PETER SIRONET KISHOYAN (DECEASED)
RULING
MARY WANJIRU KISHOYAN, and REUBEN KANGETHE MUCHAI, the Administrators of the Estate of the deceased, Peter Sironet Kishoyan, deceased, applied to this court on 26. 10. 2011 for an order to be allowed to subdivide and sell a portion of one acre of land from the land Title No.Ngong/Ngong/41630 which constitutes the deceased’s Estate. Their reason for wanting to do so is to raise funds to meet the educational expenses and upkeep of the two children of the deceased, namely, Alvin Tonkei, aged 17 years, and Stacy Soila aged 10 years.
The widow (Mary Wanjira), was a dependant of the deceased. The Grant of the Letters of Administration Intestate was made on 27. 1.2011 to the said widow and Reuben Kangethe Muchai.
Attached to the Application dated 17. 10. 2011 was a copy of a Sale Agreement which shows that the intended purchaser is one Timothy Munene Kirima and the price for the one acre is 1. 8 million. The Sale Agreement was signed on 18. 6.2010 before the Applicants filed the Application. What the Applicants are asking the court to do is to rubber stamp the sale. The Administrators have not shown that they have obtained the best price possible for the land they intend to sell; they have purported to present the court with a fait compli. The court has a duty to safeguard the Estate especially as there are minor children. The Administrators have no right to sell without the sanction of the court the capital asset of the Estate. While the court appreciates that there is need for the children of the deceased to go to school, it is equally desirable that their home where they live is not jeopardized or unreasonably reduced in size through sale at a price that is not reasonable.
For these reasons, I decline to give the approval sought and instead call upon the Administrators to show (1) cause why they sold without authority of the court and (2) whether the purported price of Shs.1. 8
million is the best price in the market for a one acre of land at Ngong where the land is situate.
Dated at Milimani Law Courts, Nairobi, this 11th day of March 2012.
G.B.M. KARIUKI, SC
JUDGE
COUNSEL APPEARING
Mr. B. P. Otieno of Bengi, Miriti & Associates Advocates for Administrators
Mr. Kugwa – Court Clerk
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