This archive report was first published on 26 August 2021.
Yvonne Wanja Michuki, the lastborn daughter of former Internal Security Minister John Michuki, is at the center of a Sh368 million legal bill dispute with her former law firm, Agimba & Associates Advocates.
According to court documents, the law firm is seeking Sh184 million in each of the Michuki parents' succession cases, which they claim they are entitled to.
Ms Wanja appointed Agimba & Associates Advocates in 2018 to challenge the appointment of her siblings Ann Mutahi and Fred Chege as administrators of the estates of Mr Michuki and his wife Josephine Watiri.
However, in 2019, Ms Wanja switched representation to W G Wambugu & Company Advocates, leaving Agimba & Associates Advocates to pursue the Sh368 million in legal bills.
The dispute began in 2018 when Ms Wanja appointed the law firm to challenge the appointment of her siblings as administrators of the Michuki estate.
Ms Wanja had filed an application in both files, and the law firm is now seeking Sh368 million for representing her in the two succession causes.
On July 30, 2021, High Court Deputy Registrar Wandia Nyamu dismissed an application by Agimba & Associates Advocates, seeking Sh184 million in legal bills for representing Ms Wanja in her mother's succession cause.
However, the law firm has now asked Ms Nyamu to review her ruling, arguing that the deputy registrar did not consider the law firm's submissions, which had information that could have changed the outcome of the dispute.
Agimba & Associates Advocates argues that there was no contract on payment between it and Ms Wanja, which means that the deputy registrar should have proceeded to analyze the Sh184 million claimed in the succession of Mrs Michuki.
Ms Wanja had objected to the bill on May 18, 2021, claiming that she had a contract with the law firm.
However, Agimba & Associates Advocates now says it filed a response in April 2021, detailing the history of its relationship with Ms Wanja, and clarifying that there was no contract on payment with its former client.
The law firm adds that Ms Wanja's lawyers did not attach a copy of the agreement the Michuki lastborn claims to have entered into with the firm on payment, despite the requirement to prove any allegations in court.
Ms Michuki's father, John Michuki, died on February 12, 2012, and his wife died on August 22, the same year.
The former Internal Security minister's disciplinarian approach to governance made it difficult for most to believe that there would be a battle for control over the Sh30 billion estate he and his wife left behind.
