Mombasa widow seeks co-wife’s arrest over estate battle

The battle for the wealth of the estate of the late Mombasa businessman Akbar Mohamed Haji Ali has taken a twist after his second wife moved to court seeking the arrest of her co-wife for allegedly defying court orders.
What you need to know:
- The widow insists that Ms Mohamed’s presence in the country is crucial for the fair determination of the case and to ensure full compliance with the court’s directives.
- “Unless Ms Mohamed’s passport is seized, there is a real likelihood that she may abscond, thereby obstructing the administration of justice. By failing to comply with court orders, she has demonstrated an intention to evade the legal process, necessitating urgent intervention by this court,” she argued.
The battle for the wealth of the estate of the late Mombasa businessman Akbar Mohamed Haji Ali has taken a twist after his second wife moved to court seeking the arrest of her co-wife for allegedly defying court orders.
Hamida Banoo has accused Amina Akbar Mohamed of deliberately disobeying an order issued by the Kadhis’ Court, which required the production of a statement of account for their late husband’s estate.
Through her advocates, Khalid Salim & Company, Ms Banoo has asked the court to bar Ms Mohamed from leaving the country until she complies with the court’s directives.
“The applicant prays that the Director-General of Immigration and Citizenship Services be ordered to restrain Ms Mohamed, the first co-administrator, from leaving the jurisdiction of this court. She should also be barred from addressing this court in this matter unless and until she has purged herself of contempt,” stated Ms Banoo’s legal team.
Ms Banoo has expressed concerns that her co-wife may flee the country to evade arrest following her persistent refusal to comply with court orders.
She fears that if this happens, the ongoing proceedings will be rendered futile, and any future orders issued by the court will be unenforceable.
“As a result, my advocates wrote to the Directorate of Immigration Services, seeking their intervention to prevent Ms Mohamed from leaving the country and escaping the enforcement of the court order,” she told the court.
The widow insists that Ms Mohamed’s presence in the country is crucial for the fair determination of the case and to ensure full compliance with the court’s directives.
“Unless Ms Mohamed’s passport is seized, there is a real likelihood that she may abscond, thereby obstructing the administration of justice. By failing to comply with court orders, she has demonstrated an intention to evade the legal process, necessitating urgent intervention by this court,” she argued.
At the same time, Ms Banoo has called for the Officer-in-Charge (OCS) of Central Police Station to be summoned before the court to explain why he has failed to enforce a warrant of arrest against Ms Mohamed.
The arrest warrant was issued on January 10, 2025, by Senior Resident Kadhi Omar Swaleh. This succession case was initially filed in 2021. In a ruling delivered on April 6, 2023, Senior Resident Kadhi Juma Ali directed that the co-administrators of the estate produce statements of account.
A decree to that effect was extracted a week later and duly served upon Ms Mohamed. However, Ms Banoo contends that her co-wife has ignored the court’s orders.
“To date, Ms Mohamed has not complied with these court orders,” lamented Ms Banoo.
In an attempt to compel compliance, Ms Banoo filed an application on June 7, 2024, seeking the court to summon her co-wife to explain why she had not adhered to the directives issued in April 2023.
In that application, Ms Banoo further requested that should Ms Mohamed fail to provide a satisfactory explanation, she should be committed to prison.
Documents filed in court show that despite being given ample time and opportunity to respond to the application, Ms Mohamed failed to do so.
Court records indicate that the Kadhis’ Court granted Ms Banoo’s application unopposed through a ruling dated September 20, 2024.
Consequently, the court ordered that a warrant of arrest be issued against Ms Mohamed, directing that she serve two months in civil jail for contempt of court.
The order was extracted on September 30, 2024. Further, on January 10, 2025, the Kadhis’ Court issued warrants of arrest against Ms Mohamed, directing the OCS of Central Police Station to apprehend her and ensure her imprisonment.
Following this directive, Ms Banoo’s advocates formally requested the OCS to enforce the warrant on January 13, 2025. However, she claims that despite the warrant being in place, the police have failed to execute it for over two weeks.
“The OCS is yet to enforce the arrest warrant more than two weeks after it was issued. The blatant and willful disobedience of the court order by the OCS raises suspicion of collusion between him and Ms Mohamed to obstruct justice,” she lamented.
She insists that the actions of both Ms Mohamed and the OCS amount to gross interference with the administration of justice, blatant disregard for the law, and a deliberate mockery of the legal system.
For this reason, Ms Banoo is urging the court to summon the OCS to explain why he has failed to enforce the warrant of arrest.
The long-standing legal wrangle between the two widows, who are co-administrators of the deceased’s estate, has negatively impacted the distribution of this estate, leaving the beneficiaries in limbo.
In 2022, the court revoked and annulled the grant of administration previously issued to Ms Mohamed and her daughter, Zahir Akbar, after finding that Ms Banoo had been excluded from the estate’s administration despite being the deceased’s widow.
Consequently, new letters of administration were issued, naming both Ms Mohamed and Ms Banoo as the deceased’s representatives. Haji died in 2019.