New twist and turns in tycoon Mengi’s will
What you need to know:
- In March 2021, the High Court, Dar es Salaam, overturned Mengi's final will after rejecting an application by four people who wanted the court to prove they were the executors of the late businessman's estate
The eldest son of the late Reginald Mengi, has filed an appeal with the Court of Appeal seeking a review of its decision to drop their arguments against Mengi’s widow, Jacqueline Ntuyabaliwe, who opposes the revocation of her husband's will.
In March 2021, the High Court, Dar es Salaam, overturned Mengi's final will after rejecting an application by four people who wanted the court to prove they were the executors of the late businessman's estate.
Mengi's son, Abdiel and his brother, Benjamin Mengi, objected to the application, claiming that the will that gave Jacqueline almost all Mengi's property was illegal.
Judge Yose Mlyambina agreed with Mengi's children and rescinded the will that was allegedly written by their father.
In the will, Mengi, who was the owner of IPP Group of companies, allegedly bequeathed all his property to Jacqueline and her twin children - Jayden Kihoza Mengi and Ryan Saashisha Mengi, leaving nothing for the children he had with his first wife, Mercy Mengi. Mercy passed away in November 2018.
The High Court agreed with Mengi's older children’s arguments that their father had lost the ability to write legitimate wills due to the health problems he was facing at the time.
The court was satisfied that there was enough evidence that the deceased had suffered a stroke since October 2016 and did not recover until he met his death.
"This means that his ability to think and make good decisions was affected and he was unable to understand the meaning of the right decision to manage his estate," the court said.
New contest
Following the decision, Jacqueline (Mengi’s widow) filed an application for revision with the Court of Appeal, seeking to review and overturn the High Court's decision to set aside her husband's will, which had handed her all the tycoon’s property.
The move did not please Mengi's children, who protested against the widow's request.
In one of their arguments, they argued that Jacqueline had no legitimacy to challenge a High Court decision by requesting a revision at the Court of Appeal instead of an appeal.
They also claimed that the application was not legally valid because it did not have the necessary accompanying documents.
However, the Court of Appeals dismissed the objection, stating that since Jacqueline was not a party to the high court case, she was eligible to file for application for revision in the court.
The court further stated that even the shortcomings identified in her application had no effect on the case she filed, thus giving permission for the case to be heard.
Mengi’s children oppose
Recently, Abdiel and Benjamin filed an application with the Court of Appeal seeking a review of the country's highest court’s decision.
They are appealing the decision of the Court of Appeal to dismiss their objection to the appeal filed by Mengi’s widow Jacqueline against the High Court, which rejected the will.
Among other things, Abdiel in his application claims that the court's decision lacked legal grounds.
Jacqueline's lawyers have asked the court to dismiss the arguments, claiming they have no legal basis.
The Court of Appeal has already heard the arguments by Mengi’s children and their relatives and will issue a notice informing all parties of the date of the decision.
Mengi died on May 2, 2019 while in Dubai while undergoing treatment.
