Florence Wanjiru Marine v Plaintiffs (suit against 3rd Defendant striking out application)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court refused to strike out a woman who claimed she never agreed to be a company director, because official company records still listed her.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Questions the Court framed
#The issues the Court set itself to decide, in its own words.
- 1.Whether the 3rd Defendant is properly enjoined in the suit as a director of the 4th Defendant
- 2.Whether the entire suit against the 3rd Defendant should be struck out with costs
Key legal issues
#Whether the 3rd Defendant was improperly joined as a defendant in the suit
The application to strike her out was misconceived because the official records of the Registrar of Companies list her as a director of the 4th Defendant and she has not shown any completed legal process removing her name.
The court noted that the 3rd Defendant was joined because she is listed as one of six directors of Umplosh Company Limited in a company search dated 13th October 2016. Although she deponed that she never consented to being a director and had written to the Registrar seeking removal, she produced no evidence that the Registrar acceded to that request. The official register therefore remained the basis for her joinder.
Legal principles established
#- The official records held at the office of the Registrar of Companies are the authoritative record for identifying the officials of a company.
Court orders
#- 1.The Motion dated 14th March 2023 is dismissed
- 2.Costs of the application awarded to the Plaintiffs
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Inherent powers of the court on interlocutory application under civil procedure (not expressly stated in the judgment)
Relief refused
#Striking out of the entire suit against the 3rd Defendant
The official records at the Registrar of Companies place the 3rd Defendant as a director of the 4th Defendant and she has demonstrated no completed process of resignation or removal, making her a proper party.
Costs
The Motion dated 14th March 2023 is dismissed with costs to the Plaintiffs.
Quotable passages
#Verbatim from the judgment, each located to the page it appears on in the official PDF — so these can be cited and checked directly.
The records held at the ofice of the Registrar of Companies are the only oficial records on which one can rely to identify the oficials of a company.
Accordingly, the Motion dated 14th March 2023 is hereby dismissed with costs to the Plaintifis.
Issues in the judgment
#The full suit number and case title of the principal suit are not stated in the extract; the ruling is identified only by the application date.
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Florence Wanjiru Marine v Plaintiffs (suit against 3rd Defendant striking out application)", Case Analysis (2024). Notice of Motion dated 14th March 2023. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2024/6393/eng@2024-10-03
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.