A war of words has erupted on X between lawyer Donald Kipkorir and Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja over the lawyer’s yet to be paid Sh1.3billion fees.
On April 19, 2024, Mr Kipkorir said the fear was gone from him and he went ahead to accuse the under fire Sakaja and the Nairobi County Assembly Budget Committee of asking him for 50% of his lawyer’s fee before they could process the rest of the monies owed to him for payout.
“Now that fear has gone, I can tell you something … Last month, Nairobi County Assembly Budget Committee together with Governor Sakaja Johnson were in Naivasha preparing the County’s Supplementary Budget. They called me that they want to approve all my payments if I give them 50% of the sums I am owed. I told them, my fees are in accordance with The Advocates (Remuneration) Order & decreed by Court & I won’t pay a bribe.
Nairobi City under the Governor pay Bills, Invoices & Court Decrees to those that pay a bribe of 50%. In holding that you can’t attach county governments, the Court of Appeal is enabling the openly practiced corruption in County Governments. Nairobi City under Sakaja Johnson will go down as the most corrupt leadership in Kenya’s history with a County Assembly that is completely beholden to him. It is time President William Ruto dissolves both the County Assembly & expels Sakaja from UDA and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission should arrest Nairobi County leadership of both the executive & the County Assembly,” said Mr Kipkorir.
In response, Governor Sakaja shot back demanding to know who exactly had contacted Mr Kipkorir, saying he personally has never spoken to the lawyer about his fees.
“Who called you? Be specific. I have never spoken to you on your fees neither have I ever sent anyone to you. If anything, I have resisted your overtures. It’s unfathomable that one lawyer wants to be paid more than 1b for a matter between govts. We will continue to challenge it. You are the corrupt one and bitter because you will not be paid that amount,” responded Governor Sakaja.
Not one to back down, Mr Kipkorir responded, saying he had receipts to show who called him from their location in Naivasha, Nakuru County.
“Call-logs will show your people called me from Naivasha. I never called them. I have a date with Twalib Mbarak, EACCKenya CEO on Monday. And had you gone to university, you would have understood that legal fees in Kenya are regulated by law & computation is done by Deputy Registrars called Taxing Masters. Even if you bribe judicial officers, you will waste your money as computation of legal fees is arithmetic & not guess work! The law will pay me whether you like it or not. I will not pay you 50% or 1% bribe,” said Mr Kipkorir.
The war of words has since gone viral on social media, especially on the clapback regarding Governor Sakaja’s university education which continues to be shrouded in mystery over whether he actually attained a degree from any institution.
Mr Kipkorir is owed Sh 1.3 billion- the highest legal fees awarded to any lawyer in Kenya’s history- after he defended the Nairobi County government against the Ministry of Defense in a case involving a 3,000 acre parcel of land valued at Sh 61.5 billion where Embakasi Barracks stands.
In July 2022, the Environment and Land Court ruled that Mr Kipkorir should be paid Sh 1.338 billion for representing the city in the case that ran for about 10 years. This was after the County government opposed the amount, saying Mr Kipkorir’s firm had an agreement with the city to be paid Sh 400 million plus Value Added Tax. The city could not provide any proof on this agreement.
