URMILA W/O MAHENDRA SHAH V. BARCLAYS BANK INTERNATIONAL LTD AND THE STANDARD BANK LTD

JUDGMENT

The appellant is a lady who in 1975 was trading in Nairobi as a wholesaler and dealer in garments and textiles under the name of “Measurewear”. The business was managed by her brother-in-law ZR Shah (to whom I shall refer as “Shah”) and D KKuria (to whom I shall refer as “Kuria”) who was a salesman employed in the business. The respondents are banks having several branches in Nairobi; this appeal concerns the Market branch of Barclays Bank (hereinafter referred to as “Barclays”) and the Kimathi Street branch of the Standard Bank (hereinafter referred to as “the Standard Bank”).

The appellant’s case is that on 26th August 1975, one A A Rahiman, variously described as a Ugandan, a Somali, or a Ugandan Somali, came into her shop and ordered a large quantity of textiles. He was attended to by Kuria, who deposed that he told Rahiman that, as he was a stranger and not a customer, he would be required either to pay cash or to produce a bank cheque, and that he would have to wait until…