1. Before me is the Petition for Letters of Administration ad litem dated 4th April 2024 filed by Mrs. Mary Wanjiru Kamande, the widow of the deceased herein. The Petition is expressed as being brought under Section 54 of the Law of Succession Act and Rule 28 of the Probate and Administration Rules. The Petitioner seeks to be granted letters of administration ad litem in respect of the estate of John Kamande Mwaniki (deceased), who died on 11th March 2024 and was domiciled in Kenya.
2. The Petitioner seeks the said grant for purposes of filing and prosecuting and or defending a suit without the power of distribution of the estate. In particular she would like to file or defend a claim in respect of the shares the decedent had in a limited liability company called Ocean Distributors Limited.
3. I have read the said Petition, the Supporting Affidavit as well as the annexures attached thereto. In my view the application has merits. As the widow of the deceased the Petitioner is best placed to defend her husband's estate. She has deposed in the affidavit that there is an ongoing sale of shares in the said company. The estate of the deceased needs, in my opinion, to be represented in the course of the said event.
4. In the circumstances I allow the application and order that a grant of letters of administration ad litem do issue to Mary Wanjiru Kamande limited for the purposes of filing or defending a claim in respect of the shares the deceased had in Ocean Distributors Limited. The appointed Administrator shall however not have the power to distribute the assets of the deceased.
5. I further order that the Petition for grant of probate/letters of administration intestate be filed within 90 days of the date hereof failing which the grant issued herein will lapse and be of no further effect.