Mutula Kilonzo's law firm slaps ex-President Moi’s estate with Sh69 million bill
Former President the late Daniel arap Moi. Kilonzo and Company Advocates, which defended the former president in a long-running case against media mogul S. K. Macharia, has filed a Sh69.7 million bill against Daniel Moi’s estate
Kilonzo and Company Advocates has filed a Sh69.7 million bill against Daniel Moi’s estate for defending the former president in a long-running case brought against him by media mogul S. K. Macharia.
The bill was submitted to the High Court by the law firm, which was originally owned by the late Senator Mutula Kilonzo and currently registered under his son and Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jnr and daughter Kethi Kilonzo.
The firm defended Mr Moi in the case in which Mr Macharia accused several lenders, Moi and former civil service chief and Cabinet minister Joseph arap Letting of violating his rights and unjustly enriching himself through economic duress.
Documents filed with the court show that a lawyer from the firm appeared in court 21 times between December 3, 2004 and November 28, 2022.
Moi’s estate was sued through its representative, Senior Counsel Zehrabanu Janmohammed.
In the case, Mr Macharia, through his company Madhupaper International, allegedly borrowed Sh50 million from three institutions in 1981 to set up a plant to produce tissue paper from recycled waste paper.
As security for the loan, Madhupaper gave the lending institutions a charge over all its assets. After Madhupaper defaulted on repayments, the lenders, including KCB Bank and Kenya National Capital Corporation, placed Madhupaper under receivership in 1989 to recover the loan.
Then High Court judge Richard Kuloba ruled in favour of Mr Macharia in January 2003, saying the lenders had abused the influence of then President Moi and Mr Letting by using undue pressure and economic coercion on the tycoon and his company to overpay a loan by more than Sh56 million.
However, the decision was overturned in 2008 by a three-judge bench of the Court of Appeal, which said there was no evidence of coercion or duress on Mr Macharia and his company to pay the money.
Mr Macharia later tried unsuccessfully to approach the Supreme Court for compensation of Sh2.4 billion, but the case was dismissed in 2013.
The media mogul said Madhupaper International and Royal Credit had accounts with Standard Chartered and the lender had agreed to collect on his behalf monies paid by third parties.
In November 2000, Mr Macharia complained to the Bank Fraud Investigation Unit that the bank had failed to credit his account with Sh55 million. He asked the police to investigate the matter, but after some investigation, the Attorney General wrote back saying that the investigation had found nothing to support criminal charges.
