Kalonzo former law firm in financial and partner wrangles

When it was founded in April 1989, the law firm of Musyoka & Wambua Advocates at Rehani House on Nairobi’s Kenyatta Avenue was the talk of the town.

The two most prominent people behind it were Mr Kalonzo Musyoka, a Kanu politician who would later become Vice-President, and University of Nairobi law lecturer, Prof Paul Musili Wambua.

A year before the law firm was set up, Mr Musyoka had just been re-elected to Parliament as Kitui North MP – a seat he first won in 1985.

But 28 years later, the once vibrant law firm is a shell of its former self after most of the partners quit, leaving only Mr John Katiku and a trail of lawsuits and counter-suits regarding the partnership assets and funds.

Mr Musyoka, a presidential aspirant who now leads the opposition Wiper party which is in Nasa, left and founded Musyoka, Murambi and Associates located in Nairobi’s Karen suburbs in January 2014.

START OWN PRACTICE

Mr Wambua also left in July 2013 to start own practice. Another prominent lawyer, Mr William Musyoka, quit after he was appointed High Court Judge.

But even though the Nasa co-principal was not directly implicated, the firm was already muddled in acrimonious disagreements involving the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) Disciplinary Committee and court battles by the time he left.

Besides, there are arbitration proceedings in protracted suits and counter-suits pitting Prof Wambua and Mr Katiku over a partnership deal gone sour. The details and extent of the disintegration is also the subject of a petition lodged at the LSK Complaints Committee in July 2015.

“After the petitioner withdrew from the partnership of Musyoka Wambua & Katiku Advocates, the petitioner has faced, in quick succession, no less than five complaints of professional misconduct,” Prof Wambua states in the plaint.

Prof Wambua denies accusations levelled against him by Mr Katiku relating to misappropriation of clients’ funds. He has filed a counter-suit before the Committee, raising similar allegations.

OBTAINED PERMANENT INJUNCTION

In addition, Prof Wambua has also filed a suit in court seeking to stop the LSK committee from proceeding with the complaint on grounds that it is pre-emptive.

In the High Court suit, Prof Wambua obtained a permanent injunction against his former partners, Wiper leader Mr Musyoka, Justice Musyoka and Mr Katiku and their agents, from “removing, selling furniture, computers and other assets of their former law firm until arbitration is over.”

At the centre of the face-off between Prof Wambua and Mr Katiku is a Sh10 million short-term loan advanced to Prof Wambua’s client, Mr Michael Arimbi, by their mutual friend, Mr John Ngumbau, the current chairman of Mumias Sugar Board. According to the deal, Mr Arimbi and his company, Explorer Holdings Limited, was to pay back Sh20 million within a month after the borrowing.

Subsequently, Mr Arimbi did not meet his end of the bargain, leaving Mr Ngumbau with no option but to write to Prof Wambua on December 14 last year demanding that the terms of the undertaking be enforced.

The case is now muddled in accusations and counter-accusations and Mr Musyoka may not escape from the quagmire if it goes to full hearing as he officially left the firm last January. 

Late last year Mr Musyoka, in an advert, said he had retired from the law firm.