Chartered Companies:
A chartered company is formed when the Queen or King of England issues a charter, or "letters patent", to a group of people who intend to carry on a business as a chartered company. No such company can be formed in Kenya after political independence and the words "letters patent" in s.389 merely serve like a reminder of the English origin of our Companies Act which is the replica of the English Companies Act, 1948, with a few minor modifications.