The commercial division of the Milimani Law Courts has ratified majority shareholder Mohan Galot as the sole director of garments manufacturer Manchester Outfitters, settling a long-running dispute that escalated in 2007 when Mohan expelled other directors from the company.
- •Mohan Galot accused his nephew Pravin Galot of establishing a rival manufacturing firm with a similar name in an attempt to defraud him.
- •Pravin set up Manchester Outfitters (East Africa) Limited, while serving as managing director in his uncle’s company.
- •Mohan invoked his rights as governing director to remove Pravin Galot, Rajesh Galot, Ganesh Galot, and Kevin Galot as directors.
Pravin, who was employed by the company in 1991, and Rajesh contested the removal on the grounds that they were permanent directors. In their verdict on April 11, Justices Lillian Mutende, Chacha Mwita, and Mugure Thande rejected that claim, citing that the articles of association in Manchester Outfitters Limited did not define the position of a permanent director.
“It is not disputed that Pravin was appointed managing director. No evidence was placed before the court to demonstrate that Pravin or Rajesh were ever permanent directors in MOL,” the judges stated in their ruling.
In 2018, Mohan had filed an affidavit in which he claimed that Pravin had attempted to defraud him of KShs 2bn by trying to redirect payments to his (Pravin’s) similarly-named company. Pravin, on the other hand, said that Mohan was the fraudster and added that he was planning to sue him for 27 counts of forgery.
Mohan assumed the position of governing director and majority shareholder after the demise of his father and the company’s founder, Lalchand Galot, in 1995. Lachman had founded the garments manufacturer in 1954, and later split ownership equally with Mohan.
In his will, Lachman granted a quarter of his fifty percent interest in the partnership to his four sons, meaning that Mohan’s shareholding rose to 62.5% and solidified his position as the company’s majority shareholder.
