SKHS V. SSNS

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

1. The appellant, SKHS, who is the executor and trustee of the Will of SNS, deceased, is aggrieved by the decision of the High Court (W. Karanja, J, as she then was) given on 25^th July, 2012 in which that court referred the succession matter in the estate of the deceased to the Chief Kadhi to determine the “entitlement” of the beneficiaries under the Will.

2. The appellant complains that in referring the matter to the Kadhi’s court, the Judge failed to recognize that the deceased’s Will is a secular Will under the Law of Succession Act; that the judge failed to apply Article 170(5) of the Constitution; and that the Judge was wrong in holding that the Kadhi’s court has jurisdiction to determine the matter.

3. The background, in brief, is that the deceased, SNS, died on 23^rd June 1999 at the Nairobi Hospital and was domiciled in Kenya. By a petition dated 13^th August 1999, the appellant petitioned the High Court for a grant of probate of the last Will of the deceased …