City-based lawyer Donald Kipkorir is set to receive Sh1.3 billion from Nairobi county government as payment for his legal services in two court cases involving military land ownership and legitimacy of the city fire brigade by-laws.
This is after High Court judge John Chigiti ordered the governor Johnson Sakaja-led administration to pay Mr Kipkorir's law firm, KTK Advocates, the amount within 60 days together with interests.
The orders dated April 3 are directed to the City county government, the county executive committee member for finance, chief officer finance, the county attorney and the county treasurer.
Justice Chigiti said there was no justification for the delayed payment, and if the court were to decline to grant the compelling orders, the law firm would be left without an effective remedy despite holding the decrees. He said the law firm was entitled to the payment.
"The respondents have refused, failed, and neglected to settle the amounts in entirety. This court is satisfied that KTK Advocates had a legitimate expectation that the respondents would settle the claim as set out in the Certificates of Order against the government which the respondents have failed to do without any explanation or justification," said the judge.
He issued the orders following an application by the law firm, which stated the county government had refused to settle the two fee notes totalling to Sh1,338,709,459 without a justification.
The 3,000-acre land valued at Sh61.5 billion was forcibly taken from the defunct city council of Nairobi by the national government through the Kenya Defence Forces, triggering the court dispute.
The case was filed in 2012 at the Environment and Lands Court but was withdrawn in 2021 through consent between the parties.
Mr Kipkorir had been hired on April 3, 2012, by the defunct city council and proceeded to represent it until the advocate-client relationship broke down. The law firm was awarded the fees by court in May 2022.
Awarding the fees, which is one of the highest legal fees awarded in the country’s litigation history, the court considered the value of the property, numerous court appearances and the filings.
In the second fee note, the law firm was awarded Sh697,876 for its legal services to the county government in a constitutional petition filed in 2015 by Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH).
The petition, which was against the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company and the county government, involved the legitimacy of the City of Nairobi (Fire Brigade) (By-Laws 2007).
Nairobi County Governor Johnson Sakaja.
Photo credit: Bonface Bogita | Nation Media Group
The dispute stemmed from criminal charges against a KNH officer for allegedly breaching the city by-laws by obstructing the fire brigade from drawing water for firefighting from the fire hydrant within the hospital.
The county government hired Mr Kipkorir to defend it and in a judgment dated June 28, 2017 the High Court ruled in favour of his submissions. The court held that the by-laws were not ultra vires the Constitution because they satisfied the requirements set out under article 24 of the Constitution.
In it's application for orders compelling the county to settle the payments, the law firm told Justice Chigiti that superior courts have since rejected the excuse by government (national and county) to delay payment on account of lack of funds or absence of budgetary allocation.
"Despite being served with the decree and demand, the respondents refused and failed to settle the amount in entirety," said the firm.
It argued that since the respondents were protected by law against execution, the law firm had no other way to secure compliance of the decree apart from obtaining the compelling orders.
"The Government Proceedings Act Cap 40 exempts the government from attachment thus only available avenue in enforcing a decree against the government, both national and county government is by way of an order compelling a person to perform a public or statutory duty," said KTK Advocates.
Justice Chigiti observed that it was not in dispute that the law firm had furnished the respondents with the certificates of the order against the government.
