Businesswoman loses grant in Sh8bn Karen land case

Grant of letters of administration refers to the authority given by the court to a person for them to administer the estate of a person who may have died without writing a will.

Ms Mburu had granted Ms Ng’ang’a power of attorney to, among other things, look and search the properties of her late husband, which included the Karen land.

According to Ms Mburu, the land was fraudulently taken away and illegally registered and transferred to Habenga Holdings Limited, Jina Enterprises Limited, and Telesource Company United at different times, through officials from the Ministry of Lands.

“I determine that the power of attorney donated to the petitioner was an ordinary power of attorney that was revocable, and automatically terminated upon the death of the deceased. After the deceased died, it was upon the person with a grant of probate or an intestate grant to pursue any claims or defend any claims in respect of her estate,” Justice Muchelule said.

Mrs Mburu died in 2017 and had no children. She had been pursuing the 134-acre land, claiming it belonged to her late husband.

Using the power of attorney, Ms Ng’ang’a petitioned the court to be granted letters of administration and enable her to participate in the case.

The move was, however objected by Mr Lewis Wanyoike Kangethe, Ms Louisa Wanjira, and Mr Joseph Kangethe Wanyoike who stated that Ms Mburu left a written Will and had chosen Lewis and Joseph to manage and handle all her affairs, including property.

They told Justice Muchelule that Ms Ng’ang’a failed to disclose to the court that Ms Mburu had left the will with them as executors.

The land is also claimed by the family of Da Gama Rose through Muchanga Ltd and former National Social Security Fund (NSSF) managing trustee Jos Konzolo through Telesource Ltd.

Da Gama Rose moved to court in 2014 to prevent the subdivision of the land into 189 plots. He argued that he purchased it from Barclays Bank in 1983, as trustee of the late Arnold Bradley.