This archive report was first published on 13 December 2019.
On December 5, 2019, High Court judge Weldon Korir extended an order stopping further payment to the Matiba family, awaiting a ruling on January 20, 2020.
However, lawyer John Mburu claims the Treasury had already released a further amount in disregard of the order.
Mr. Mburu, who represented Kenneth Matiba in a case where he successfully sued the State for torture compensation, has accused the Matiba family of trying to avoid paying him his rightful legal fees.
The order has been extended several times, with the latest extension on December 5, 2019, by High Court judge Weldon Korir, awaiting a ruling on January 20, 2020.
According to Mr. Mburu, the money has been sent to the Attorney-General for payment to the administrators of Matiba's estate, which includes his widow Edith, daughter Susan, and son Raymond.
Mr. Matiba was awarded Sh978 million by the High Court as compensation for torture, and the amount now exceeds Sh1.5 billion plus interest.
Mr. Mburu has protested the move to pay the family at his expense, claiming they intended to use the power of attorney to disburse the money to themselves once it was released by the Treasury and avoid paying him.
Through lawyer Nicholas Ombija, Mr. Mburu told the court that the State had quietly paid Matiba's family Sh200 million early this year behind his back, yet he was the lawyer who successfully prosecuted the matter.
He said there were plans to disburse a further Sh500 million to the family pursuant to a secret agreement between the family and Attorney-General Kihara Kariuki.
Mr. Matiba, a former Kiharu MP, died last year aged 85 after battling a long illness. He suffered a stroke while in detention on May 26, 1991, but State officials did not bother to get him medical attention, and he remained in that state for a week.
