Preface

25
On the submission of the appellant that the Cadi distributed the estate
without presence of witnesses, his uncle or the Imam of the area the Panel is of the
view that Cadi is not under obligation to wait for any witness be he an Imam or not
to be in attendance before he embarks on distribution in as much as his two
assessors or assistants are present.
On the appellant's submission that the distribution of the estate took place in
his absence the Panel is of the opinion that attendance of distribution is a right of
the appellant. It is incumbent upon the Cadi to consider his presence unless where
his absence is unavoidable. This is based on the popular pronouncement of
Sayyadina Umar. He said give equal treatment to all parties before you and in
application of justice to them as well and on how and where they stand before you
in such a way that an influential person will lose confidence in his influence and
the poor will not be in a state of despair.
On the submission of the appellant that the engineer who performed the
valuation and drew the sketch plan of the house was unknown to him the Panel was
of the view that it is not a condition precedent that he must know the valuer in as
much as he is an official engineer. The appellant is however entitled to be rest
assured that the engineer is an official valuerer. In the instant case there is nothing
to confirm that the engineer in question is an official valuer. For this reason the
appellant's complain carries weight and on this basis we hand down the following
judgment:
After due consideration of this appeal and listening to both parties
(Appellant and Respondent) this Panel has arrived at the following:
Firstly, this appeal was filed within the regulated time allowed by the law.