Diwansap v Kimemeta (Civil Case No. 207 of 1927)
Observed later treatment
No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.
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Holding
Under Mohammedan law, the wali of a marriageable girl is entitled to act as her guardian and to have custody of her. A person who voluntarily maintained the girl cannot raise a claim for reimbursement as a defence to the wali's claim for custody, knowing that the girl would be taken from him for marriage when she reached marriageable age.
Outcome
Defendant ordered to hand over custody of the girl to the plaintiff as her wali
Facts
About eight years before the suit was filed, the plaintiff, a Mohammedan, handed over his granddaughter Kariori, then aged about five years, to the defendant at Nairobi with instructions to take her to the plaintiff's home in Tanganyika. The defendant failed to do so and instead kept the girl at Changamwe, Mombasa. The plaintiff brought this action to recover custody of the girl, who by the time of the suit had reached marriageable age. The defendant did not appear at the hearing but had complained that he wanted some return for maintaining the girl.
Issues
- Whether the wali (guardian) of a marriageable girl under Mohammedan law is entitled to custody and to act as her guardian.
Orders
- Defendant ordered to hand over the girl Kariori to the plaintiff.
- Judgment for the plaintiff.
Rules and key headnotes
Full judgment
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