Late businessman's daughters move to court in Sh75m Westlands property dispute

Gavel

In their court documents, the sisters are claiming that they had been given the house by their father as a gift in 2013.

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • Documents filed by the two daughters indicate that Mr Hussein transferred the maisonette to them as a gift on May 27, 2013.
  • Mr Adan claims that the transfer lease, in which the daughters are claiming to have been gifted the house, is a forgery.

Two daughters of Nairobi businessman the late Shokat Ali Hussein have moved to court seeking to stop a man from claiming ownership of one of his Sh75 million maisonettes in Westlands.

Ms Sadaff Shokat Ali Gulam Hussein Habib and Sabahatt Shokat Ali Habib want court to bar Mr Abdisalan Adan from laying claim of the house situated at Jaffa Court.

In their court documents, the sisters are claiming that they had been given the house by their father as a gift in 2013.

They are disputing Mr Adan’s assertion that he purchased the house in March 2019 from their father Mr Hussein, who passed on in April 2019. 

In counter accusation, Mr Adan claims that the alleged transfer of the property to the two daughters as a gift is a forgery and he has been advised by his advocates “to seek the assistance of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, Land Fraud department to investigate the same.”

Transfer lease

Documents filed by the two daughters indicate that Mr Hussein transferred the maisonette to them as a gift on May 27, 2013. They also deny Mr Adan’s assertion that their father had advertised sale of the property.

The house is within the same compound as six apartments owned and occupied by third parties within Jaffa Courts and there is a management company known as Jaffa Apartments Management Limited. 

Mr Adan claims that the transfer lease, in which the daughters are claiming to have been gifted the house, is a forgery.

He claims that he is the rightful owner of the property having purchased the same sometime in March 2019 from Mr Hussein following a newspaper advertisement dated January 4, 2019. 

“I have since moved in and continue to occupy the suit property since the time I bought it from Mr Hussein,” says Mr Adan in his replying affidavit while insisting that he has all the proprietorship documents.

Managed the property

Pending determination of the dispute, Justice Lucy Mbugua of the Environment and Lands Court has since issued orders for status quo.

The late Shokat Ali lived in the property until his death. After his demise the two daughters appointed Paragon Property Consultants Limited to manage the property on their behalf as they were residing abroad. 

Paragon took care of the property making sure all the service charge was paid to the management company Jaffa Court Management Limited.

But trouble began in November 2021 when their father’s former worker appeared at the premises with people that were said to be prospective purchasers of the property.

The security guard manning the gate informed Paragon about the incident and reported the same to Spring Valley Police Station.

They allege that despite the court orders for status quo, Mr Adan entered into the property threatening to shoot the guards who had been stationed at the gate by Jaffa Court Management.