Now which Will is legitimate? That is the question
Court is in possession of two separate Wills prepared by Anna Mokgethi One signed by the married couple, another by husband alone
The discovery of a 2003 signed Will belonging to deceased Abdull Joseph and wife Doreen puts Minister of Labour and Home Affairs Anna Mokgethi in a very dicey situation.
As it stands, there are two Wills before court now and totally different from each other. All along, Joseph’s family has been tearing each other apart in court over the validity of a Will signed in 2010 by Abdul. The 2003 Will says all family members currently embroiled in a legal tussle are to inherit from Joseph’s estate, while the one signed in 2010 by Abdull excludes some family members. Both Wills according to court documents were prepared by Mokgethi. A forensic document examiner Shima Situmbeko brought in by the aggrieved family member Dawn Masenya, Joseph’s granddaughter, told court this week that according to his findings, Abdul’s signature found on the 2003 Will seems valid. It does not appear to have been forged or manipulated. His findings are in agreement with Kagiso Patrick, another expert who it was said in court that he also analysed the 2003 Will. “Yes my Lord, my findings are in agreement with those of Patrick,” answered Situmbeko when asked if his findings are similar to that of a different expert engaged. When firing back, the defence counsel, Ofentse Khumomotse representing Dawn’s aunt and children, asked Situmbeko if he had also analysed Doreen’s signature that was on top of Abdul’s. Situmbeko said he did not as it was not part of the instructions he got from his client. He also explained
that there were no samples to use for Doreen’s signature. Khumomotse then asked the expert if not having details on Doreen’s signature somehow compromised the entire document and therefore the Will cannot be said to be authentic as they are not sure if Doreen’s signature was forged or not. Situmbeko struggled for some time to give Khumomotse a straight answer leading to a back and forth between the two. “Well not really, it does not mean that if the wife’s signature was forged, the whole document is tainted,” he said. When speaking in court this week, former High court Judge Unity Dow who was subpoenaed to give evidence after discovering the 2003 Will in her office in October last year, said the Will contains the final wishes of the deceased couple. “What I can derive is that two people took a decision to write this Will and that both of them can make additions to it,” Dow said. At this point,
Rita Keevil, an attorney representing the aggrieved family member, Dawn Masenya asked Dow, “but not make subtractions right?” “But not make subtractions yes,” answered Dow. Dow went on to say, “The Will says should one of them die, the remaining spouse can enjoy the fruits of an asset such as collecting rentals or live in the house but should both of them die then the estate should be divided equally amongst their children and grandchildren,” she said. Dow blatantly refused to be drawn into discussing any issues surrounding the validity of the Will, telling Judge Ranier Busang that it was not her position to do so and the judge agreed with her. Court documents show that when Abdull died in 2012, Anna Mokgethi presented a Will signed in 2010 as the final wishes of Abdul. And that is how the aggrieved Masenya approached the court questioning the validity of the 2010 Will.