A dramatic inheritance case opened at Milimani Law Courts this week. Kalpa Chandarana accused her sister, Dinta Devani Pathanja, of forging their father’s Will just one month after he died. She claims the forgery cut her and her sister Shilpa out of billions in assets and shares in family companies.
Kalpa testified that their father, Balkrishna Ramji Haribhai Devani, signed a valid Will on June 3, 2019. He died two days later. The law firm Dally & Inamdah Advocates prepared the document. According to Kalpa, the Will split his estate equally among his three daughters. All three accepted it without protest.
But everything changed a month later. Dinta filed a codicil at the Milimani High Court. It carried a July 2019 date—after their father’s death. “It means he rose from the dead,” Kalpa told the court, pointing out the impossibility.
This new codicil gave Dinta full control of Pelican Limited, Silverstar Properties, and Stanmore Development Limited. Kalpa said she has suffered emotionally and physically ever since. For seven years, she has fought to reclaim her rightful share.
Even more troubling, the fraud may have started before their father passed. Between July 2018 and February 2019, he was in the UK for medical treatment. During that time, Dinta, her husband Abbay Singh Pathanja, and two employees—Samuel Ngugi Ndinguri and Addah Nduta Ndambuki—allegedly forged board meeting minutes. These fake records claimed the deceased and his wife had approved share transfers in Pelican Limited.
Prosecutors say the same group later submitted falsified affidavits to support the altered father’s Will. They accuse Ndinguri of filing a false affidavit in the succession case. The prosecution argues this was an attempt to block justice.
All four defendants deny the charges. At the hearing, they asked for bail. The prosecution did not object. Magistrate Ms. Shitubi released them on a Sh3 million bond each. They must also provide a surety of the same amount—or pay Sh1 million in cash.
This case reflects a growing trend in Kenya: high-value inheritance fights fueled by forged documents. For Kalpa and Shilpa—who both live in London—the trial is about more than money. It is about honoring their father’s true wishes.
The court will now examine whether the July 2019 codicil is real—or whether someone tried to make a dead man sign away his legacy. The hearing continues.
