Judge issues notice to close 47-year-old business row

The High Court has issued a mention notice to law firms, Kiania Njau and Advocates and Waruhiu and Company Advocates in a bid to close the oldest suit pending at Milimani’s Civil Division.

Justice Anthony Kimani Ndung’u on Tuesday directed lawyers of the parties to be reached out to in order to inform the court as to whether the parties are still living and if the matter remains unresolved.

The 47-year-old case is a partnership dispute between a Mr Kingori Gachoro, a resident of Nairobi and Ms Wanjiru Kamau, a resident of Githunguri who operated a farming, general merchants property and land ownership business.

Mr Gachoro filed the suit in December 1968, seeking to dissolve a partnership he had with Ms Kamau after she took over the company and failed to pay him his share of profit.

According to court documents, the two entered into a partnership in 1962, operating a business under the name Kingori Gachoro and Wanjiru Kamau. The two agreed to share the profits according to the respective contributions of the share capital where each contributed Sh3,300.

Mr Gachoro claimed that he was admitted to hospital in 1964 when Ms Kamau took over the running of the business, failing to render the partnership account and declining to give him his share of profit.

In a defence filed in February 1969, Ms Kamau claimed that Mr Gachoro was not giving proper accounts.

She claimed that he took advantage of her not being educated, adding that she had invested much more money in their various partnership enterprises and businesses.

The last time the matter was heard was in March 1989, although the case has an entry of notice of change filed by Kiania Njau and Advocates in 1993.

The case is among the 15,494 pending civil suits that the Judiciary is seeking to close to reduce case backlog at the High Court.