Three law firms are seeking Sh3.37 billion from the estate of former Starehe MP and Cabinet assistant minister Gerishon Kamau Kirima for legal services offered in a long-running land dispute.
The joint claim covers their work in six consolidated court cases involving more than 970 acres of land in Nairobi, which attracted competing claims from people seeking ownership through adverse possession
The Environment and Land Court (ELC) has ordered a fresh assessment of the advocates' bill after setting aside a Sh37.3 million award to the law firms, citing land acreage errors and an apparent double deduction of Sh12 million already paid.
Former Assistant Minister Gerishon Kirima looks outside his house in Kitisuru, Nairobi on August 7, 2010. PHOTO | SULEIMAN MBATIAH | NATION MEDIA GROUP
The law firms— S Musalia Mwenesi Advocates, Nyamu & Nyamu Co Advocates and PC Onduso & Co Advocates — moved to court challenging the award, saying the taxing officer failed to consider the size of the properties, their value and work done by the advocates. They jointly billed the estate Sh3.37 billion but the taxing officer, Judith Omollo, awarded them Sh37.3 million, triggering the dispute.
The development comes three years after Rachier & Amollo Advocates LLP separately sought Sh666.3 million in legal fees from the estate for its services in the family succession case, though the bill was subsequently taxed down to Sh84 million. The law firm rejected the award, claiming the taxing officer significantly undervalued the estate.
It challenged that amount and in January 2026 the High Court ordered fresh assessment after finding that the original taxing master’s valuation process lacked a clear, transparent justification for choosing specific asset values over others.
Kirima died on December 21, 2010 aged 88. He was a businessman and politician who rose from humble beginnings as a carpenter to become a prominent Nairobi property investor, serving as a Nairobi City Council councillor, deputy mayor, Starehe MP and assistant minister in President Daniel arap Moi’s government in the 1980s and 1990s.
He built a multi-billion-shilling wealth empire through real estate, rental properties, butcheries, an abattoir and business investments, leaving behind more than 40 landed properties across Nairobi, Kiambu, Murang’a and Kajiado.
The wealth portfolio also includes shares in 11 publicly listed companies and private firms, 19 motor vehicles, machinery and cash in bank accounts.
In the latest ruling concerning payment of legal fees to the three law firms, Justice Charles Mbogo ruled that Deputy Registrar Judith Omollo taxation could not stand.
The judge ordered the bill to be assessed afresh by another taxing officer after finding errors, including the incorrect recording of the acreage of the two properties.
However, the judge upheld the taxing officer’s decision not to derive the lawyers' instruction fee from the disputed property valuations.
“I agree with the taxing officer that the value of the subject matter could not be ascertained from the pleadings or the judgment. I am satisfied that the taxing officer appreciated the applicable principles and exercised her discretion upon finding that the value was not ascertainable from the pleadings and judgment," said Justice Mbogo.
The underlying court cases concerned land parcels LR No.5908/8 and LR No.6825/2, measuring 499 acres and 471 acres respectively. In an October 23, 2023 judgment, the court consolidated six suits filed between 2011 and 2014. Claims included alleged allocations, adverse possession and purchases from registered owners. A separate related case was struck out in April 2024.
The 2023 judgment showed that Kirima and his son John Gerishon Kirima were the registered proprietors of the properties.
The claimants were 300 people, who sought 80 acres of LR 6825/2 through adverse possession, and Kamatuto Self-Help Group, whose 1,310 members claimed 160 acres of LR 5908/8. Naridai Muoroto Self-Help Group also claimed land there.
The court dismissed the adverse-possession claims, finding the claimants had not proved the required occupation. He also granted relief to some purchasers, including orders for the estate's administrators to complete specified sales.
In the legal fee dispute, the law firms said the taxing officer wrongly recorded the properties as measuring 80 and 160 acres. Justice Mbogo confirmed that the 2023 judgment recorded one land parcel (LR 6825/2) at 471 acres and LR 5908/8 as measuring 499 acres.
“Indeed, the taxing officer made an error in recognizing the size of both properties,” the judge said.
But he was unsure whether the mistake affected the calculation. “While she noted that there was no doubt that the properties were of high value, I cannot state with certainty that she used the acreage to assess instruction fees. Perhaps, if she had taken note of the correct size of both properties, a different sum would have been used to exercise her discretion to assess the instruction fees," said the judge.
One of the properties owned by the late Starehe MP Gerishon Kirima.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
The second error concerned Sh12 million already paid. Justice Mbogo said the amount appeared to have been deducted twice.
The estate opposed the application through its administrators Anne Wangari Kirima and Stephen Kamau Kuria, saying the amount awarded was reasonable and that there was no sufficient basis for disturbing the taxing officer's decision.
They said each firm had received Sh7 million in instruction fees and the Sh12 million payment was properly accounted for.
They added that two of the firms previously acted jointly for Ms Teresia Kirima, a former administrator of the estate, in the succession proceedings. The court heard all three law firms jointly represented the said Teresia Kirima in the primary suits giving rise to the advocate – client bill of costs.
The firms had earlier faced an attempt to stop taxation. In November 2025, the court rejected the estate's application to strike out the bill, finding a retainer existed despite the absence of a written agreement.
The estate had argued Teresia Wairimu Kirima engaged the firms personally, without the co-administrator's authority.
A February 2025 succession judgment revoked the grant previously issued to Teresia and appointed Anne Kirima and Stephen Kirima as administrators. It identified 15 beneficiaries and directed them to account for liabilities and prepare a distribution proposal.
