In re Estate of Hassan Abdalla Awale (Deceased) (Succession Cause E378 of 2021) [2024] KEKC 27 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court ruled that death compensation for a Kenyan Muslim working in Qatar must be shared under Islamic inheritance law, not work-injury rules.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Questions the Court framed
#The issues the Court set itself to decide, in its own words.
- 1.Whether the Work Injury Benefits Act applies to this case
- 2.If not, what law governs the distribution of the compensation
- 3.Whether the conditions for review of the court's orders have been met
- 4.What orders should be made regarding the distribution of the compensation
Key legal issues
#Whether the Work Injury Benefits Act applies to compensation for the death of the deceased
WIBA does not apply because the deceased was employed and worked wholly outside Kenya.
Section 5(3)(b) of WIBA excludes persons employed outside Kenya, and Section 11(3) excludes employees deployed outside Kenya for 12 months or longer. The deceased was employed in Qatar by a Qatari company and the employment was performed wholly in Qatar, with no indication of deployment from Kenya or subjection to Kenyan employment laws. The compensation therefore cannot be distributed under WIBA.
What law governs distribution of the compensation
Islamic law of inheritance governs the distribution.
Articles 55, 110 and 114 of Qatar Labour Law No. 14 of 2004 require distribution according to Islamic Sharia or the personal law of the deceased's country of origin. The deceased was a Muslim Kenyan citizen; Section 2(3) of the Law of Succession Act excludes Muslims from the Act's provisions, and Section 6 of the Kadhis' Courts Act confers jurisdiction over inheritance where all parties profess the Islamic faith.
Whether the conditions for review under Order 45 Rule 1 of the Civil Procedure Rules were met
The Public Trustee failed to satisfy any of the three grounds for review.
There was no new matter or evidence not available when the original orders were made; the WIBA argument could have been raised at the initial hearing. There was no error apparent on the face of the record since Islamic law was correctly applied. The Public Trustee's own non-compliant distribution of funds cannot amount to sufficient reason for review and instead raises compliance concerns.
Legal principles established
#- WIBA does not apply to compensation for an employee who was employed and worked wholly outside Kenya for 12 months or longer.
- Compensation for death of a Muslim employee paid under Qatar Labour Law is distributable according to Islamic law of inheritance.
- A party's own non-compliance with a court order cannot constitute sufficient reason for review.
Court orders
#- 1.The Public Trustee's application for review dated 9th August 2024 is dismissed
- 2.The Public Trustee is directed to comply with the Court's distribution order dated 9th November 2021
- 3.The Public Trustee is directed to provide an account of all funds received and disbursed to date within 14 days from the date of the ruling
- 4.The Public Trustee is directed to remit the mother's share of 16.5% of the total compensation received within 30 days from the date of the ruling
- 5.Each party shall bear their own costs
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Section 6 of the Kadhis' Courts Act (Cap 11) - matters of personal status and inheritance where all parties profess the Islamic faith
Relief refused
#Review of the orders dated 9th November 2021 and 27th May 2024
None of the grounds for review under Order 45 Rule 1 of the Civil Procedure Rules was established; the WIBA argument could have been raised at the initial hearing
Costs
Each party shall bear their own costs.
Quotable passages
#Verbatim from the judgment, each located to the page it appears on in the official PDF — so these can be cited and checked directly.
In light of these provisions, I find that WIBA does not apply to the circumstances of this case. The deceased's employment fell outside the jurisdictional scope of WIBA, and consequently, the compensation received cannot be subject to distribution under WIBA.
It follows that the applicable law for distributing the compensation is Islamic law of inheritance, both by virtue of Qatar Labour Law referring to the deceased's personal law and Kenyan law providing for the application of Islamic law in matters of Muslim succession.
The Public Trustee's argument that it has already distributed some of the funds contrary to the Court's orders cannot constitute "suficient reason" for review.
Accordingly, the Public Trustee's application for review dated 9th August 2024 is hereby Dismissed.
Each party shall bear their own costs. These are the orders of this Court.
Issues in the judgment
#Paragraph numbering is inconsistent - the numbers 13, 14, 18 and 23 each appear twice, and paragraphs 15-17 and 22 are missing from the sequence.
The coram identifies the presiding officer as a Deputy Registrar/Principal Kadhi rather than a Kadhi, and the case title and case number are not stated in the judgment.
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "In re Estate of Hassan Abdalla Awale (Deceased) (Succession Cause E378 of 2021) [2024] KEKC 27 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2024). Not stated in the judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/kekc/2024/27/eng@2024-12-13
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.