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Asians began leaving Kenya for Britain after independence in 1963. Most either had British passports or were offered British citizenship. Most of them sold their properties at throwaway prices, but not so the Rughani family, then selling text books in Karatina, Central Kenya, where they operated Rughani Bookshop.
Having teamed up with Vidhu Shah family of Murang’a, where they ran the Vidhu Shah Bookshop, the two families saw a business opportunity in the future of the young nation, where the government was fighting ignorance via opening schools through the spirit of harambee. Text Book Centre was the result of their insightful enterprise, besides the Sarit Centre, the Sarit Exhibitions and Promotions Ltd, Soma Properties, Soma Group Ltd, Kartasi Ltd and Book Distributors Ltd.
Maneklal Rughani: His father, Ratanji Rughani, had come to Kenya as an Indian coolie in 1914 and lived long enough to witness the laying of the foundation stone for Sarit Centre after his Holiness Sat Guru Pujya Hariram Bapa suggested its location, then the house of Vidhu Shah. That was in 1973. After visiting the Brent Cross Shopping Centre in North West London, he decided to duplicate the same on the spot identified by His Holiness who had advised that, “Never sell, buy adjacent plots, this land is blessed.”
The rest is the history of what later turned out to be Nairobi’s largest shopping complex, which was opened in April 1983 after the family bought surrounding plots as His Holiness had suggested. It had only two tenants; Uchumi Supermarkets and Text Book Centre, with the whole complex, the ‘city within a city’ finally filling with tenants by 1985.
Maneklal Rughani died in 1997 and his friend Vidhu Shah was awarded the Order of the Grand Warrior of Kenya in 2000.
Rajesh Rughani: An accountant, Rajesh is the Managing Director of Simpsons Properties and Soma Group - the holding company of the Rughanis’ and the Vidhu Shahs’ business interests. The alumnus of Jamhuri High School and Strathmore University where he was tennis champion for three years to 1974, is chair of Divinity Foundation, which offers support to orphaned, abandoned and impoverished children in society.
Mahesh Rughani: CEO of Citadel Cellular Communications and TBC Sports & Hobbies attended USIU in California (MBA, International Business and Strategic Management, class of 1984).
Ishwar Rughani: The director at Text Book Centre which was opened by the Rughani and the Vidhu Shah in 1964.
