The family Court has resolved a nine-year-old succession battle over the late Mombasa tycoon Dalip Singh Dhanjal’s multibillion-dollar estate.
The late tycoon’s estate, which died in 2010, will now be divided equally among his two children and grandson.
Years of court battles between his daughter Jaswinder Kaur Koundu and son Nirmal Dhanjal may be over.
According to Mombasa High Court Judge John Oneyiego, the multi-billion shilling estate should be divided between the two siblings and their nephew.
“Having gone through the ownership documents on the support of the assets listed under category A, I am satisfied that whose ownership is clear that the estate is to be shared out in equal measure among three beneficiaries,” Justice Onyiego stated.
The minor’s share, according to the judge, will be held in trust for his benefit until he reaches the age of maturity.
The late Dalip Singh Dhanjal owned a number of properties, including the Travellers Beach Hotel.
The recent ruling has put the hotel’s ownership in jeopardy.
According to the ruling, the late Dalip Singh Dhanjal died in July 2010, and his son Nirmal, the current chairman of Mombasa’s Sikh Temple, deceived the court by claiming to be his late father’s sole survivor, then fraudulently petitioned for a grant of representation, culminating in the issuance of a grant of letters of administration interested to him in 2013.
Jaswinder Kaur Koundu sought revocation of the grant in 2016 on the grounds that it was obtained fraudulently and by concealing material information.
According to the daughter, her brother failed to disclose to the court that she was also a beneficiary of the estate and thus should have been consulted or her consent sought.
Nirmal was ordered to provide a full and accurate account of the estate from December 2012 to the date of the consent in 2018.
