Billionaire’s kin want three judges out of court battle for family property

The battle for the control of a multi-billion-shilling family business has taken a new twist after the disenfranchised relatives in the dispute lodged complaints before the Judicial Service Commission accusing three Commercial Court Judges of bias.

Mr Pravin Galot and Mr Rajesh Galot, the two nephews of the billionaire businessman, Mr Mohan Galot, want Judges Fred Ochieng, Francis Tuiyot and Olga Sewe removed from a commercial related suit, citing prejudice.

The duo claim the Registrar of Companies has given conclusive evidence regarding the firm’s status and orders made by the judges, suspending all pending applications in one of the civil suits to pave way for a fresh hearing regarding the shareholding and directorship of Manchester Outfitters Ltd, were therefore wrong.

They allege the order for a fresh hearing would present their uncle — Mohan Galot,  with an opportunity to re-invent his statement.

They now want Chief Justice David Maraga to constitute a fresh bench to hear and determine the case.

START AFRESH

According to Rajesh, the three judges were not independent and impartial since none of the parties had applied for the case to start afresh.

He argues in a sworn statement that no justifiable reason was given for directing fresh witness statements and documents to be filed.

Mr Galot is fighting to avoid being prosecuted for alleged fraud following complaints lodged by the two nephews over the directorship of the family-ran business, Galot Industries Ltd.

The nephews are accusing their uncle of interfering with the particulars of directors and shareholders of two other family concerns, Kings Woollen Mills and Mohan Meakin.

OVERTUNED DECISION

The High Court recently overturned a decision to free Mr Galot and directed that he be prosecuted together with his wife Santosh Galot in three criminal cases over alleged fraud.

The Director of Public Prosecutions, aggrieved by an earlier decision by a magistrate withdrawing their criminal cases, successfully appealed the decision to have the charges reinstated.

Opposing the withdrawal of the cases against Mr Galot, senior assistant director of prosecutions Mr Eddie Kadebe said it was only the DPP who had the sole powers to institute and terminate criminal proceedings.

The charges against them states that on about July 30, 2007 at Registrar of Companies in Nairobi, jointly with others not before court, the couple  obtained registration of Galot Industries company directors claiming the same was approved by Registrar of Companies Wilson Gikonyo.

FORGED SIGNATURES

The long-running vicious battle revolves around the control and management of lucrative companies that deal in real estate, alcoholic and soft drinks distillery, bottling and sale and cloth-making.

The nephews moved to court after they were removed from the directorship of the firms but Mr Galot alleges that he personally invited his nephews to join the family enterprises as directors but kicked them out when they allegedly registered parallel companies in a bid to take over the businesses.

But Pravin and Rajesh on their part, allege that their uncle forged the signatures of public officers in the ministry of Lands and Registrar of Companies to transfer three prime properties to M.G Park Ltd without consent of other directors of Galot Industries, including them.

The DPP, through prosecutor Ashitava Ashimosi, said the Registrar of Titles, Mr Fredrick Lubullelah, and Ms Sarah Maina who were alleged to have signed and stamped the three suspected forged title deeds, recorded statements and denied involvement in the irregular process.

He said the specimen and known signatures and official rubber stamp impressions of the two registrars were submitted for forensic examination alongside the questionable documents and the results from the document examiner revealed they were forgeries.

CRIMINAL CHARGES

Along with their kin, the couple sued the Attorney General, DPP and the Nairobi chief magistrate’s court seeking to stop the criminal proceedings claiming violation of their constitutional rights.

According to the couple, their kin joined the group of companies as directors in the 1990s on the invitation of Mr Mohan but thereafter ceased to be shareholders in some of the companies, a situation that triggered a string of civil suits after the fallout.

Since 2009, Pravin and Rajesh have resisted their removal from the companies while the couple has continued to restrain them from holding themselves out as shareholders or directors.

The DPP lodged the criminal proceedings following complaints by the billionaire’s two nephews.

Justice Luka Kimaru directed Mr Mohan and his wife to face charges of interfering with the particulars of directors and shareholders of Kings Woolen and Mohan Meakin.

But the couple has challenged the validity of the criminal charges against them, saying they are not valid, bona fide or lawful and are a violation of their constitutional rights.