Tycoon’s son fights petition in property row

Mrs Regine Butt in the High Court in Mombasa yesterday during the hearing of an application she has filed in a property dispute. PHOTO | KEVIN ODIT | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Their lawyer, Mr Charles Agwara, said Mrs Regine Butt has filed two succession cases, which are a remedy available to her.
  • Mrs Regine Butt opposed the preliminary objection by Mr Haroon Butt and his mother, saying it is misconceived and an abuse of the court process.
  • Mr Kaluma said the objection raised was vague. He said the application by his client seeks to secure spousal interest in the matrimonial home pending a court order.

A son of slain business tycoon Shahid Pervez Butt and his mother have told the High Court that it does not have jurisdiction to hear an application seeking to restrain them from interfering with his second wife’s rights and interest in a matrimonial home.

Mr Haroon Butt and his mother, Ms Akhatar Butt, said the proceedings before the court in Mombasa “are incompetent and fatally” defective”.

Their lawyer, Mr Charles Agwara, said Mrs Regine Butt has filed two succession cases, which are a remedy available to her.

He added that the application seeks to determine her right to the property against the defendant’s, hence the court has no jurisdiction over the matter.

“The plaintiff may pursue interest in the succession cases,” Mr Agwara told Mr Justice Edward Muriithi.

Mrs Regine Butt opposed the preliminary objection by Mr Haroon Butt and his mother, saying it is misconceived and an abuse of the court process.

Her lawyer, Mr Peter Kaluma, described the preliminary objection as a scheme to delay the case.

“A preliminary objection should raise a pure point of law, which is specific and certain,” said Mr Kaluma, who is also a MP for Homa Bay Town.

Mr Kaluma said the objection raised was vague. He said the application by his client seeks to secure spousal interest in the matrimonial home pending a court order.

Mrs Regine Butt moved to court claiming that Mr Haroon Butt and his wife had demanded that she vacate the family home so he could live with his biological mother.