By Mwaka Ndawa
BARELY a month after her husband’s death, FDD leader Edith Nawakwi and her step children have engaged in squabbles over estate of the late Geoffrey Hambulo.
Nawakwi, being the surviving spouse of the late Hambulo, has sued her step children in the Lusaka High Court for wrongly obtaining letters of administration of his estate without her consent and excluding her as an admistratrix.
In law, an admistratrix is a female administrator of an estate.
She is seeking an order of revocation of Mweemba and Mulundu’s letters of administration granted to them by the court on January 12, 2022.
Nawakwi wants an order compelling the respondents to give a full account of the assets managed by themselves while they were executing their functions as administrators.
She wants an injunction restraining Mweemba and Mulundu from further acting as administrators of the late Hambulo and doing any actions that affect the management of his estate.
They were among the six children and beneficiaries of the estate of Hambulo including Lwatila Hambulo aged 45 based in Dublin, Ireland; Masi aged 43 of Western Australia, Nomayi based in Western Australia and Nambozi Hambulo aged 21 based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Mweemba and Mulundu claimed that their father was cohabiting with Nawakwi and were not married.
They said their father died on December 5, 2021 in Lusaka and that they were appointed as administrators of his estate.
“We are desirous of seeking leave of Court to apply for grant of probate,” said the duo.
However, Nawakwi has opposed the letters of administration which were granted to the respondents.
According to an affidavit in support of originating summons, Nawakwi said in 2014 Hambulo was diagnosed with prostate cancer and died of the same on December 5, 2021.
She said after Hambulo’s burial, his family members distributed his clothes and it was later agreed that an account of his properties should be rendered.
Nawakwi stated that her mother in-law informed her that Hambulo had left a will but she could not act or validate the information as she was not aware of its existence.
She said the Hambulo family convened and Mulundu Hambulo were granted a probate by the Lusaka High Court on January 12, 2022 confirming them as administrators of the estate of their late father.
According to an affidavit in support of originating summons for leave to obtain letters of administration, the duo submitted that they were among the six children and beneficiaries of the estate of Hambulo including Lwatila Hambulo aged 45 based in Dublin, Ireland; Masi aged 43 of Western Australia, Nomayi based in Western Australia and Nambozi Hambulo aged 21 based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Mweemba and Mulundu claimed that their father was cohabiting with Nawakwi and were not married.
They said their father died on December 5, 2021 in Lusaka and that they were appointed as administrators of his estate.
“We are desirous of seeking leave of Court to apply for grant of probate,” said the duo.
However, Nawakwi has opposed the letters of administration which were granted to the respondents.
According to an affidavit in support of originating summons, Nawakwi said in 2014 Hambulo was diagnosed with prostate cancer and died of the same on December 5, 2021.
She said after Hambulo’s burial, his family members distributed his clothes and it was later agreed that an account of his properties should be rendered.
Nawakwi stated that her mother in-law informed her that Hambulo had left a will but she could not act or validate the information as she was not aware of its existence.
She said the Hambulo family convened a meeting in her absence and it was resolved that Mweemba, Mulundu and herself should be co-administrators of the estate of the deceased.
“Contrary to the decision made by the Hambulo family, I requested that a committee should be appointed consisting of elders to whom I should report to as the co-administrator of the estate of the deceased,” Nawakwi said. “I proposed that the co-administrators should be chosen from the elders due to the fact that to the best of my knowledge, I do not believe that the said respondents have the necessary competence to carry out duties of an administrator. I requested that a neutral person, preferably an elder from the Hambulo family should represent all the children’s interest. My opinion was based on the fact that the deceased was survived by children with different mothers.”
She said a committee was appointed comprising Gilbert Majata, Joakim Bbenkele, Dr Farrelli Hambulo and Fredrick Hambulo and the respondents were present when the appointments were made.
Nawakwi stated that sometime in December 2021 the respondents and herself accessed the late Hambulo’s office and took note of various documents such as title deeds, firearm certificates and property registration documents.
She said the family agreed to hold a meeting and open Hambulo’s laptop search for a possible existence of a will.
“Upon opening the laptop bag, I discovered some documents inclusive of a document dated April 20, 2018 that appeared to contain the wishes of the deceased,” she explained.
“Members of the family requested that in order to ensure the said document was in existence and it was what it purports to be there was need to scrutinise the deceased’s laptop.”
Nawakwi said the laptop was opened by an IT specialist and it was discovered that document of 2018 was amended in November 2020 and the family agreed to recognise the document as authentic.
She said contrary to the resolutions, Mweemba and Mulundu on January 12, 2022 erroneously obtained letters of administration
Nawakwi said after obtaining the letters, her step children have verbally abused her and harassed her together with her employees at her residence on Luwato Road in Lusaka’s Roma township.
“The respondents are erroneously acting as administrators owing to the fact that the spouse of the deceased has priority in ranking in the appointment of an administrator,” Nawakwi said.
“The respondents’ application for the administration of the estate of the late is incompetent as it does not include a conclusive list of assets and liabilities acquired by the deceased.”
She clarified that she was married to Hambulo and the two were not cohabiting.
Nawakwi added that Mweemba and Mulundu had not called for a meeting after obtaining the letters of administration to discuss how her husband’s estate would be managed.
She further wants an order to deem the document dated April 20, 2018 and its subsequent amendment made in November 2020 as the will of the late Hambulo.
Nawakwi is seeking an order that her husband died intestate (without leaving a will) and the provisions of the intestate succession Act should apply and that she should be the administratrix of her husband’s estate.
She also wants an order that the court grants her letters of administration pending the final determination of the matter.- The Mast