A 12 years property tussle between siblings of a deceased Mombasa tycoon is finally coming to an end after the court appointed new administrators to manage Sh 2.17 billion property.
Mombasa family division judge Mugure Thande appointed Joginder Dhanjal and her sister Sukhwant Kaur as joint administrators to manage the family estate.
The property initially belonged to their father Jaswant Boor Dhanjal, a businessman who died in 2004 and left behind three sons and two daughters.
The siblings
have been in a tussle after one of the brothers, Daljit Singh who has been the administrator of the estate allegedly mismanaged it for his “own gains”.
Their claim is only a segment of the vast estate of the departed tycoon.
Judge Thande said the beneficiaries were comfortable having Joginder and Sukhwant as the administrators contrary to Daljit.
The family division high court further gave all parties 30 days to file a confirmation summon of grant.
Judge Thande further directed Daljit to hand over all the documents relating to the property to the appointed administrators.
Last week, judge Thande declined to allow criminal proceedings instituted against Daljit who had been found to have interfered with the estate of his late father but was spared conviction.
The latter doubles up as the director of Dhanjal Brothers - an Infrastructure Construction, Building, and Maintenance company.
Mugure said despite the court’s finding, both parties remain siblings and will remain family members after they leave the courts.
"In dealing with matters concerning families, the court must be mindful of the need to foster lasting family relations," she said.
The judge said nothing in the law prevented the court from granting the orders sought but that would be a restorative measure than punitive measures.
She said the family needs measures that would promote harmony among the Dhanjal siblings.
She added that granting the orders would result in further degeneration of the relationship and would tear the family apart further than it is now.
"At the end of the day, each party wants to benefit from the estate of their late father and it is important they do not lose the sight of that ultimate goal."
Judge Mugure said her duty and that of the court is to ensure that the estate is protected and eventually distributed to all beneficiaries fairly.
She said her declination to grant the orders was to create a conducive atmosphere for the distribution of the estate.