1. Before this court is a Chamber Summons dated 2nd September, 2026, filed together with a Petition for Letters of Administration ad colligenda bona of even date by the Applicant Anne Nkirote Kubai.
2. The application seeks, principally, the issuance to the Applicant of a limited grant of Letters of Administration ad colligenda bona in respect of the estate of M'imaingi M'Laaru alias Samuel M'imaingi M'Laaru (deceased).
3. The Applicant further seeks authority to take custody of, collect and preserve specified assets of the deceased, including the agricultural properties known as NJIA/KIEGOI/176, Njia/Cia Mwendwa/3090 and Njia/Cia Mwendwa/3460, and the commercial property known as Maua Plot No. 38.
4. Additionally, she also seeks authority to take such procedural steps as may be necessary in pending proceedings concerning the estate, particularly Meru ELC Land Case No. E005 of 2023.
5. The application is supported by the affidavit sworn by the Applicant on 2nd September, 2026. The Applicant deposes that the deceased was her father and died intestate on 22nd June, 2026. She further deposes that no grant of representation has been issued in respect of his estate.
6. The Applicant states that the deceased was survived by five children, namely, herself, Jerusha Kanario Mwenda, Justus Mwinji, Eliud Muriungi and Martin Murithi. She further states that another son of the deceased, Ezekiel Muthiaine Maingi, died in February 2017, while the deceased's wife predeceased him in May 2023.
7. The Applicant further deponed that the deceased had suffered from dementia since about 2015 and was consequently unable to manage his person and property. She states that during his lifetime, the High Court at Nairobi, in Miscellaneous Application No. 106 of 2017, appointed the Applicant and Jerusha Kanario Mwenda as guardians of the deceased's person and managers of his estate under the Mental Health Act.
8. The Applicant's case is that the authority arising from those proceedings did not continue after the death of the deceased and that, consequently, there is presently no person holding a grant of representation in respect of the estate.
9. The Applicant alleges that following the death of the deceased there have been dealings with some of the properties forming part of the estate. In particular, she alleges that Abednego Mioro took possession of the miraa plantations situated on Njia/Cia Mwendwa/3090 and Njia/Cia Mwendwa/3460 and has been harvesting and selling the produce therefrom.
10. The Applicant further alleges that Martin Murithi has dealt with the tea plantation comprised in NJIA/KIEGOI/176 and that he purported to transfer the property to himself and thereafter deal with it in favour of third parties.
11. It is further alleged that Martin Murithi and Eliud Muriungi have directed the tenant occupying Maua Plot No. 38 to pay rent to them rather than to the estate.
12. The Applicant stated that due to the interference of the estate Meru ELC Land Case No. E005 of 2023, Samuel M'Imaingi M'Laaru (suing by his next friend Jerusha Kanario Mwenda) v Abednego Matata Mioro & Attorney General was instituted during the lifetime of the deceased.
13. It is deposed that following the death of the deceased, the Environment and Land Court at Meru, on 15th July, 2026, directed that the matter be mentioned on 12th October, 2026 to enable the necessary steps to be taken concerning substitution of the deceased.
14. The issue arising for determination is whether, on the material placed before the Court, the Applicant has established the circumstances necessary for the issuance of a limited grant of Letters of Administration ad colligenda bona and the consequential preservatory orders sought.
Applicable law
15. The jurisdiction of this Court in matters relating to the administration of estates is founded principally upon the Law of Succession Act. Section 47 thereof provides:
“The High Court shall have jurisdiction to entertain any application and determine any dispute under this Act and to pronounce such decrees and make such orders therein as may be expedient.”
16. Section 67 of the Act makes provision for a limited grant for collection and preservation of assets. It provides, in the relevant part:
“No grant of representation, other than a limited grant for collection and preservation of assets, shall be made until there has been published notice of the application for such grant, inviting objections thereto to be made known to the court within a specified period of not less than thirty days from the date of publication, and the period so specified has expired.”
17. The corresponding procedure is provided under Rule 36 of the Probate and Administration Rules. Rule 36(1) provides:
“ Where, owing to special circumstances the urgency of the matter is so great that it would not be possible for the court to make a full grant of representation to the person who would by law be entitled thereto in sufficient time to meet the necessities of the case, any person may apply to the court for the making of a grant of administration ad colligenda bona defuncti of the estate of the deceased.”
18. Rule 36(2) further provides:
“ Every such grant shall be in the Form 47 and be expressly limited for the purpose only of collecting and getting in and receiving the estate and doing such acts as may be necessary for the preservation of the estate and until a further grant is made.”
19. The nature and purpose of such a grant were considered by the Court of Appeal in Morjaria v Abdalla [1984] KLR 490. In the fifth holding, the Court stated:
“The purpose of a grant of letters of administration ad colligenda bona is to collect the property of the deceased person where it is of a perishable or precarious nature, and where regular probate and administration cannot be granted at once.”
21. The Court further held that:
“The appointment of a person as an administrator ad colligenda bona in respect of a deceased person cannot include the right to take the place of the deceased for the purpose of instituting an action or appeal, especially where there is specific provision for that purpose in paragraph 14 of the Fifth Schedule to the Law of Succession Act.”
22. The limitation inherent in the grant is also reflected in Tristram and Coote's Probate Practice , 24th Edition, at page 394, where it is stated:
“When the estate of a deceased person may be endangered by delay in administering it, the court is not bound to wait for an application by the person entitled to a grant under the rules, but may grant letters of administration ad colligenda bona for the purpose of preserving the property.”
23. The same work, at page 369, states:
“A grant ad colligenda bona may be made not only to a person whom the court considers suitable, but also to the persons who are entitled to a full grant but in the interest of the estate cannot wait or to entire strangers who have been brought into connection with the matter.”
24. Having considered the statutory framework and the authorities, I discern the following principles governing the grant of letters of administration ad colligenda bona. First, the applicant must demonstrate an immediate and identifiable necessity for the collection, getting in, receipt or preservation of the deceased’s estate, such that the exigency cannot reasonably await the completion of the ordinary process for obtaining a full grant of representation.
25. Second, the Court must be satisfied that the circumstances disclosed are special and sufficiently urgent to justify resort to this exceptional jurisdiction. The mere existence of estate property, or the absence of a grant, does not, constitute sufficient grounds. The applicant must establish circumstances showing that delay in obtaining full representation presents a real risk to the collection, receipt or preservation of the estate.
26. Third, the Court must have regard to the limited and protective character of the grant. A grant ad colligenda bona is made for the interim purpose of collecting and preserving the estate pending a further grant; it does not confer the general powers of a personal representative under a full grant of representation.
27. Fourth, the Court must ensure that the relief granted is confined to what is necessary to meet the exigency established. The acts authorised must fall within the statutory purpose of the limited grant, and the order should neither enlarge the grantee’s authority beyond that purpose nor confer powers properly exercisable only under a full grant.
Analysis and determination
Whether the Applicant has demonstrated an immediate and identifiable necessity for the collection, receipt or preservation of the estate
28. The deceased died intestate on 22nd June, 2026 and no grant of representation has been issued. The Applicant has identified four properties, namely NJIA/KIEGOI/176, Njia/Cia Mwendwa/3090, Njia/Cia Mwendwa/3460 and Maua Plot No. 38, which she asserts form part of the estate. She has further deposed that miraa is being harvested from the latter two agricultural properties, that there have been dealings concerning NJIA/KIEGOI/176, and that rent from Maua Plot No. 38 is being collected or directed to persons other than the estate. These circumstances disclose identifiable estate assets and income requiring collection, receipt and preservation in the absence of a personal representative. I am therefore satisfied that the first requirement is established.
Whether the circumstances are special and sufficiently urgent to justify intervention before a full grant can be obtained
29. The estate comprises income-generating agricultural and commercial property, while the Applicant alleges that third parties are presently dealing with some of the property and its proceeds. In addition, the deceased was the plaintiff in Meru ELC Land Case No. E005 of 2023, and following his death, the Environment and Land Court directed that the matter be mentioned on 12th October, 2026 to facilitate the necessary steps concerning his substitution. The need to secure identified estate assets and income, together with the pending proceedings, constitutes, in my view, a sufficiently immediate exigency to warrant the intervention contemplated under Rule 36.
Whether the circumstances relied upon justify preservation of the Estate
30. The allegations that Martin Murithi purportedly dealt with NJIA/KIEGOI/176, that Abednego Mioro has been harvesting miraa from Njia/Cia Mwendwa/3090 and 3460, or that rent from Maua Plot No. 38 has been diverted are, at this stage, allegations. This Court is not required, for purposes of determining the present application, to adjudicate upon their truth or to determine ownership, beneficial entitlement or the validity of any alleged transaction. The Applicant, based on the material placed before the Court demonstrated circumstances which, on the face of it, justify the preservation of the estate in the interim.
What is the scope of the relief to be granted?
31. In the circumstances of this estate, the scope would include authority to collect and receive rent and agricultural produce or income accruing from the identified properties, to preserve those properties, and to account for all monies or produce so received. It would not extend to selling, transferring, charging, leasing, distributing or otherwise disposing of the estate assets, since such acts fall outside the protective purpose of a grant ad colligenda bona .
32. Based on the totality of the facts and the law, the orders that commend for grant are;
i. A limited grant of Letters of Administration ad colligenda bona in respect of the Estate of M'imaingi M'Laaru alias Samuel M'imaingi M'Laaru (deceased) is hereby issued to Anne Nkirote Kubai.
ii. The grant issued is strictly limited to the collection, getting in, receiving and preservation of the estate and to such acts as are necessary for those purposes, pending the making of a further grant.
iii. The Applicant is hereby authorised to collect and preserve the rental income payable in respect of Maua Plot No. 38 and shall maintain proper records and accounts of all rent received pursuant to this order.
iv. The Applicant is hereby authorised to take reasonable steps for the preservation of the properties known as NJIA/KIEGOI/176, Njia/Cia Mwendwa/3090 and Njia/Cia Mwendwa/3460 and, where necessary for their preservation, to collect and preserve produce forming part of the estate.
v. The Applicant shall not, by virtue of the limited grant issued herein, sell, transfer, charge, lease, distribute or otherwise dispose of any property forming part of the estate.
vi. Pending the issuance of a full grant or further orders of a court of competent jurisdiction, Martin Murithi and Abednego Mioro, together with their respective agents, servants or persons acting under their authority, are restrained from selling, transferring, charging, leasing, alienating or otherwise disposing of NJIA/KIEGOI/176, Njia/Cia Mwendwa/3090, Njia/Cia Mwendwa/3460 and Maua Plot No. 38 in a manner that may affect the preservation of those properties.
vii. The Applicant shall render an account of all assets, income and produce collected or received pursuant to the limited grant in such manner and within such period as may subsequently be directed by the Court.
viii. The costs of the application shall be in the cause.
DELIVERED, SIGNED AND DATED AT MERU THIS 9TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 2026.
2. The application seeks, principally, the issuance to the Applicant of a limited grant of Letters of Administration ad colligenda bona in respect of the estate of M'imaingi M'Laaru alias Samuel M'imaingi M'Laaru (deceased).
3. The Applicant further seeks authority to take custody of, collect and preserve specified assets of the deceased, including the agricultural properties known as NJIA/KIEGOI/176, Njia/Cia Mwendwa/3090 and Njia/Cia Mwendwa/3460, and the commercial property known as Maua Plot No. 38.
4. Additionally, she also seeks authority to take such procedural steps as may be necessary in pending proceedings concerning the estate, particularly Meru ELC Land Case No. E005 of 2023.
5. The application is supported by the affidavit sworn by the Applicant on 2nd September, 2026. The Applicant deposes that the deceased was her father and died intestate on 22nd June, 2026. She further deposes that no grant of representation has been issued in respect of his estate.
6. The Applicant states that the deceased was survived by five children, namely, herself, Jerusha Kanario Mwenda, Justus Mwinji, Eliud Muriungi and Martin Murithi. She further states that another son of the deceased, Ezekiel Muthiaine Maingi, died in February 2017, while the deceased's wife predeceased him in May 2023.
7. The Applicant further deponed that the deceased had suffered from dementia since about 2015 and was consequently unable to manage his person and property. She states that during his lifetime, the High Court at Nairobi, in Miscellaneous Application No. 106 of 2017, appointed the Applicant and Jerusha Kanario Mwenda as guardians of the deceased's person and managers of his estate under the Mental Health Act.
8. The Applicant's case is that the authority arising from those proceedings did not continue after the death of the deceased and that, consequently, there is presently no person holding a grant of representation in respect of the estate.
9. The Applicant alleges that following the death of the deceased there have been dealings with some of the properties forming part of the estate. In particular, she alleges that Abednego Mioro took possession of the miraa plantations situated on Njia/Cia Mwendwa/3090 and Njia/Cia Mwendwa/3460 and has been harvesting and selling the produce therefrom.
10. The Applicant further alleges that Martin Murithi has dealt with the tea plantation comprised in NJIA/KIEGOI/176 and that he purported to transfer the property to himself and thereafter deal with it in favour of third parties.
11. It is further alleged that Martin Murithi and Eliud Muriungi have directed the tenant occupying Maua Plot No. 38 to pay rent to them rather than to the estate.
12. The Applicant stated that due to the interference of the estate Meru ELC Land Case No. E005 of 2023, Samuel M'Imaingi M'Laaru (suing by his next friend Jerusha Kanario Mwenda) v Abednego Matata Mioro & Attorney General was instituted during the lifetime of the deceased.
13. It is deposed that following the death of the deceased, the Environment and Land Court at Meru, on 15th July, 2026, directed that the matter be mentioned on 12th October, 2026 to enable the necessary steps to be taken concerning substitution of the deceased.
14. The issue arising for determination is whether, on the material placed before the Court, the Applicant has established the circumstances necessary for the issuance of a limited grant of Letters of Administration ad colligenda bona and the consequential preservatory orders sought.
Applicable law
15. The jurisdiction of this Court in matters relating to the administration of estates is founded principally upon the Law of Succession Act. Section 47 thereof provides:
“The High Court shall have jurisdiction to entertain any application and determine any dispute under this Act and to pronounce such decrees and make such orders therein as may be expedient.”
16. Section 67 of the Act makes provision for a limited grant for collection and preservation of assets. It provides, in the relevant part:
“No grant of representation, other than a limited grant for collection and preservation of assets, shall be made until there has been published notice of the application for such grant, inviting objections thereto to be made known to the court within a specified period of not less than thirty days from the date of publication, and the period so specified has expired.”
17. The corresponding procedure is provided under Rule 36 of the Probate and Administration Rules. Rule 36(1) provides:
“ Where, owing to special circumstances the urgency of the matter is so great that it would not be possible for the court to make a full grant of representation to the person who would by law be entitled thereto in sufficient time to meet the necessities of the case, any person may apply to the court for the making of a grant of administration ad colligenda bona defuncti of the estate of the deceased.”
18. Rule 36(2) further provides:
“ Every such grant shall be in the Form 47 and be expressly limited for the purpose only of collecting and getting in and receiving the estate and doing such acts as may be necessary for the preservation of the estate and until a further grant is made.”
19. The nature and purpose of such a grant were considered by the Court of Appeal in Morjaria v Abdalla [1984] KLR 490. In the fifth holding, the Court stated:
“The purpose of a grant of letters of administration ad colligenda bona is to collect the property of the deceased person where it is of a perishable or precarious nature, and where regular probate and administration cannot be granted at once.”
21. The Court further held that:
“The appointment of a person as an administrator ad colligenda bona in respect of a deceased person cannot include the right to take the place of the deceased for the purpose of instituting an action or appeal, especially where there is specific provision for that purpose in paragraph 14 of the Fifth Schedule to the Law of Succession Act.”
22. The limitation inherent in the grant is also reflected in Tristram and Coote's Probate Practice , 24th Edition, at page 394, where it is stated:
“When the estate of a deceased person may be endangered by delay in administering it, the court is not bound to wait for an application by the person entitled to a grant under the rules, but may grant letters of administration ad colligenda bona for the purpose of preserving the property.”
23. The same work, at page 369, states:
“A grant ad colligenda bona may be made not only to a person whom the court considers suitable, but also to the persons who are entitled to a full grant but in the interest of the estate cannot wait or to entire strangers who have been brought into connection with the matter.”
24. Having considered the statutory framework and the authorities, I discern the following principles governing the grant of letters of administration ad colligenda bona. First, the applicant must demonstrate an immediate and identifiable necessity for the collection, getting in, receipt or preservation of the deceased’s estate, such that the exigency cannot reasonably await the completion of the ordinary process for obtaining a full grant of representation.
25. Second, the Court must be satisfied that the circumstances disclosed are special and sufficiently urgent to justify resort to this exceptional jurisdiction. The mere existence of estate property, or the absence of a grant, does not, constitute sufficient grounds. The applicant must establish circumstances showing that delay in obtaining full representation presents a real risk to the collection, receipt or preservation of the estate.
26. Third, the Court must have regard to the limited and protective character of the grant. A grant ad colligenda bona is made for the interim purpose of collecting and preserving the estate pending a further grant; it does not confer the general powers of a personal representative under a full grant of representation.
27. Fourth, the Court must ensure that the relief granted is confined to what is necessary to meet the exigency established. The acts authorised must fall within the statutory purpose of the limited grant, and the order should neither enlarge the grantee’s authority beyond that purpose nor confer powers properly exercisable only under a full grant.
Analysis and determination
Whether the Applicant has demonstrated an immediate and identifiable necessity for the collection, receipt or preservation of the estate
28. The deceased died intestate on 22nd June, 2026 and no grant of representation has been issued. The Applicant has identified four properties, namely NJIA/KIEGOI/176, Njia/Cia Mwendwa/3090, Njia/Cia Mwendwa/3460 and Maua Plot No. 38, which she asserts form part of the estate. She has further deposed that miraa is being harvested from the latter two agricultural properties, that there have been dealings concerning NJIA/KIEGOI/176, and that rent from Maua Plot No. 38 is being collected or directed to persons other than the estate. These circumstances disclose identifiable estate assets and income requiring collection, receipt and preservation in the absence of a personal representative. I am therefore satisfied that the first requirement is established.
Whether the circumstances are special and sufficiently urgent to justify intervention before a full grant can be obtained
29. The estate comprises income-generating agricultural and commercial property, while the Applicant alleges that third parties are presently dealing with some of the property and its proceeds. In addition, the deceased was the plaintiff in Meru ELC Land Case No. E005 of 2023, and following his death, the Environment and Land Court directed that the matter be mentioned on 12th October, 2026 to facilitate the necessary steps concerning his substitution. The need to secure identified estate assets and income, together with the pending proceedings, constitutes, in my view, a sufficiently immediate exigency to warrant the intervention contemplated under Rule 36.
Whether the circumstances relied upon justify preservation of the Estate
30. The allegations that Martin Murithi purportedly dealt with NJIA/KIEGOI/176, that Abednego Mioro has been harvesting miraa from Njia/Cia Mwendwa/3090 and 3460, or that rent from Maua Plot No. 38 has been diverted are, at this stage, allegations. This Court is not required, for purposes of determining the present application, to adjudicate upon their truth or to determine ownership, beneficial entitlement or the validity of any alleged transaction. The Applicant, based on the material placed before the Court demonstrated circumstances which, on the face of it, justify the preservation of the estate in the interim.
What is the scope of the relief to be granted?
31. In the circumstances of this estate, the scope would include authority to collect and receive rent and agricultural produce or income accruing from the identified properties, to preserve those properties, and to account for all monies or produce so received. It would not extend to selling, transferring, charging, leasing, distributing or otherwise disposing of the estate assets, since such acts fall outside the protective purpose of a grant ad colligenda bona .
32. Based on the totality of the facts and the law, the orders that commend for grant are;
i. A limited grant of Letters of Administration ad colligenda bona in respect of the Estate of M'imaingi M'Laaru alias Samuel M'imaingi M'Laaru (deceased) is hereby issued to Anne Nkirote Kubai.
ii. The grant issued is strictly limited to the collection, getting in, receiving and preservation of the estate and to such acts as are necessary for those purposes, pending the making of a further grant.
iii. The Applicant is hereby authorised to collect and preserve the rental income payable in respect of Maua Plot No. 38 and shall maintain proper records and accounts of all rent received pursuant to this order.
iv. The Applicant is hereby authorised to take reasonable steps for the preservation of the properties known as NJIA/KIEGOI/176, Njia/Cia Mwendwa/3090 and Njia/Cia Mwendwa/3460 and, where necessary for their preservation, to collect and preserve produce forming part of the estate.
v. The Applicant shall not, by virtue of the limited grant issued herein, sell, transfer, charge, lease, distribute or otherwise dispose of any property forming part of the estate.
vi. Pending the issuance of a full grant or further orders of a court of competent jurisdiction, Martin Murithi and Abednego Mioro, together with their respective agents, servants or persons acting under their authority, are restrained from selling, transferring, charging, leasing, alienating or otherwise disposing of NJIA/KIEGOI/176, Njia/Cia Mwendwa/3090, Njia/Cia Mwendwa/3460 and Maua Plot No. 38 in a manner that may affect the preservation of those properties.
vii. The Applicant shall render an account of all assets, income and produce collected or received pursuant to the limited grant in such manner and within such period as may subsequently be directed by the Court.
viii. The costs of the application shall be in the cause.
DELIVERED, SIGNED AND DATED AT MERU THIS 9TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 2026.