BY SAM ALFAN.
Royal Media Services owner SK Macharia has lost yet another bid to control the estate of his late son.
The media magnate had sought orders to reverse a decision which removed him as the administrator of the estate of his late son who died four years ago.
The estate is valued at Sh1.2 billion.
High Court Justice Mugure Thande has dismissed the application seeking to reverse a ruling last year, which removed him as administrator of the estate of John Gichia.
The Judge observed that the grants issued to Macharia in April 2019 were issued prematurely denying any interested party to raise objections to the proceedings.
“The issuance of the two grants before the expiry of the 30 days stipulated in the said Kenya Gazette notice rendered the grants illegal,” said the Judge.
Justice Mugure said adding that reversing the revocation, as sought by Macharia, would give new life to the grant, therefore, sanctioning an illegality.
High Court judge Stella Mutuku revoked letters granted last year, after Macharia’s grandson, Adam Kamau Macharia, moved to court in May 2020, seeking to stop his grandfather from administering the estate.
Adam told the court that he was a minor at the time the letters of administration were issued to his grandparents and that he was seeking a piece of his father’s wealth now that he was an adult.
“The circumstances dictate that this court relooks the issues of representation in this estate afresh and make appropriate orders after hearing the parties. It is also clear to me that as at the time the two grants were issued, the sole beneficiary was a minor,” Justice Mutuku said.
But the media tycoon went back to court arguing that he and his late son had interests in companies battling court cases.
He pleaded with the court to be given limited grant to administer the estate, arguing that there is no administrator to protect the assets of his late son, yet his company- Directline Insurance is also facing a flurry of suits at different courts.
Dr Macharia said he has also been sued as the administrator of the estate, in AKM Investments ltd, which owns 600,000 shares.
He says the estate should be protected, especially after his wife Serah withdrew as the administrator.
He further submitted that Adam was being used by his mother- Lisa Anyango to fight him.
The grandson opposed saying he had no legal capacity to administer the estate of his father. He said Dr Macharia was a man of means and was no dependent on the estate.
Justice Mugure said it would present an awkward situation were Dr Macharia as the administrator of the estate of his late son, would be defending suits filed by a company of which he is the chairman.
