By Our Guest Writer
NAIROBI County Government has lost a spirited bid to block payment of KSh 75 million owed to a law firm that defended it in a case against Karen and Lang’ata Residents Associations of 2015.
The county had engaged the services of law guru, Prof Tom Ojienda and Associates, and the case was won by the county but had not honoured the Bill of costs which was taxed to the scintillating amount in his favor.
Justice Pauline Nyamweya said that the Bill of costs was taxed at KSh75,000,000 in a ruling delivered on July 2016 by the taxing master.
Proj Ojienda moved to court seeking an order to compel the county to pay him which was issued by Justice George Odunga in June 2017.
The judge dismissed the county’s defence in an application seeking to stop execution of the judgement.
It had also prayed for “extension of time” to file an appeal against the decision of the taxing master to ward off Prof Ojienda’s payment.
Justice Nyamweya said, “(the County) ought to have filed application for appeal seeking review of the order compelling it to pay the money which could have cured their case.”
The judge consequently dismissed the County’s two prayers and upheld the preliminary objection raised by Prof Ojieda to effect that the application before the court had been overtaken by the order issued by Justice Odunga.
