•The brother was charged with possession of ammunition, giving false information to the police and framing his sister and her American husband.
•The complainant says he framed her to take over her possessions.
Image: FILE
A woman has disowned her brother in a tussle involving property worth more than Sh100 million.
Zahara Pote said her brother Noor Mohamed has caused her "so much pain" and his greed has made him try to frame her and her husband over possession of bullets, "so he could take over their property".
He was charged with being in possession of 504 bullets, giving false information to the police and framing his sister and her American husband, and was last month put on defence by the court.
It was a tense and emotional moment as Zahara testified before Justice Annah Omollo on Thursday afternoon.
The previous day, the court had allowed her to take to the stand after her brother’s lawyer, Gikandi Ngibuini, failed to produce a land registry official and a doctor to testify.
“My brother turned hostile against me and my husband [Mark Pote], after I returned to Kenya and took over full control and management of my property, thereby denying him the opportunity to squander my rent,” Zahara told the court.
Zahara, a former US military hardware supplier, and her husband, an ex-US army officer, had lived in Germany, USA, Uganda, Iran, most of their lives before coming back to settle in Kenya, where Zahara was born.
She informed the court that she was forced to pay Sh3.2million to Southern Credit Banking Corporation, to discharge an outstanding loan, interest and penalties after her brother used one of their family properties.
Noor had in November 1994, obtained a loan of Sh600,000 from the bank and used the property as security. He further took a second loan of Sh1.1million in August 1998, which totalled to Sh2.3million,
“He was unable to pay the loan together with interest forcing our late mother to request me to settle the outstanding loan amount to avoid the property from being auctioned to third parties. It was by sheer luck our mother was informed of the intended sale and she contacted me in 2005 while I was abroad, and pleaded that I save it,” Zahara said.
She flew back to Kenya and sought an audience with the bank which agreed to release the property as the loan was paid.
“In May 2005, I paid Southern Credit Banking Corporation Sh3,250,000 to discharge the outstanding loan,” she informed the court and produced documents to that effect.
Her lawyers, Godfrey Mutubia and William Mogaka informed the court that their client purchased the property, making it hers.
Noor has sued Zahara over their properties which include rental houses and plots within Mombasa.
Zahara on Friday asked the court to order the eviction of her brother from her properties which are in Mombasa claiming her life is in danger with him around.
“It has been a painful journey ever since our mother died in 2011, leaving me with Noor, my younger brother. I have spent a lot, not only on my late mother but also on my brother who is not employed. I want the court to help me evict him from my properties so that I can have a peaceful place to have my retirement,” Zahara told the court.
She said she was the one sending money for her mother’s treatment and also sent money to build her mother’s house.
“In 1991, I learnt through my mother that a distant uncle had offered for sale, one of his lands, and family members had been accorded first priority. I bought the same under my mother’s name at USD40,000 and in 2004, my mother transferred it to my name,” she said.
But in 2009, she claimed her brother forged their mother’s signature and hers and re-transferred the title number of the plot to their mother’s name. A forgery case against Noor is still pending after the Director of Public Prosecutions appealed against the charges being withdrawn by the court.
It is on that plot that in 2005, she built flats and has been paying land rates ever since. She provided the court with documents on the same.
“I am the sole registered owner of the properties and my brother is not entitled to any orders of injunction nor does he have a right to remain on my property since he is not a tenant or a licensee, and the property is not part of our late mother’s estate,” she said.
She insisted that their mother transferred the properties to her, while in her proper state of mind and health.
Zahara said Noor presented a forged consent to the Kadhi’s court in 2012, over the property issue at the Kadhi's court.
She said the presence of her brother in her property is not only risking her life but also for the lives of tenants in some of her houses within Buxton and Mombasa towns along Makadara Road.
When asked by her brother’s lawyer Gikandi whether there was an agreement on the transfer of the property from her mother to her, which was signed by her brother, she replied that her mother gave her the title deed with her name on it meaning she was the owner of the property.
She added that their mother told her Noor supported the decision.
Earlier, Noor had claimed their mother had signed transfer documents of some of their properties. The transfer was registered on November 2, 2011.
But statements were conflicting, including the date of the transfer.
In 2009, the titles of three of Zahara’s properties were altered to reflect her mother Shuni Haji was the owner. She reported the fraud to police.
Three years later, a Kadhi’s court in Mombasa ordered that Noor would get two thirds of their mother’s properties after the purported consent.
Noor was awarded Sh100,000 from a bank account he claimed to have had interest in.
Forensic document examiner Martin Kitavi had earlier told a magistrate’s court that the signature that gave Noor the lion’s share in the property was not Zahara’s.
“In my opinion, the signatures were made by different authors,” he said.
But magistrate J.M. Nang’ea said the prosecution evidence was inadequate to place the accused on defence. “He is hereby acquitted of the charge. The cash bail deposited may be refunded,” Nang’ea said.
Noor owned the Furniture Centre Coast Ltd. It has since been closed.