As Kenyans marked the 50th Madaraka Day, a group of lawyers was holed up in a boardroom to thrash out disagreements arising from looming legal battles over the sharing of billions of shillings set to be paid to victims of the Mau Mau war of independence.
The Law Society of Kenya had summoned the law firms to investigate claims that some lawyers were exploiting Mau Mau victims.
The Nation has been following the Mau Mau compensation intrigues involving law firms in Kenya and in London and brings you the inside story of the fight for the expected windfall.
In the course of our inquiries, we established that the Mau Mau saga has attracted people as far away as the Cayman Islands, that tax haven that is popular with people with huge amounts of money who want to avoid scrutiny. They too want a piece of the pie after the British government last month suggested an out-of-court settlement in a case lodged in London by five claimants.
The fights seem to have reached fever pitch as the payout date draws closer with sources indicating the money could be released in the next three months.
Lawyers handling the cases have been mum on how much the British government has placed on the table, but sources told the Nation that victims of torture could get as much as Sh5 million each, bringing the total payout amount to billions of shillings.
The Mau Mau War Veterans Association, which, in conjunction with the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) filed a case in London through the British law firm, Leigh Day represents 8,000 victims, but a number of other firms and lobbies are also registering people.
The expected billions have caught the eyes of sponsors or investors in the UK who have reportedly spent thousands of pounds on law firms with a view to making profits on their investment when compensation is made. Apparently, funding law firms with “good” cases with a high probability of success is a common business practice in the UK.
Agreements we saw show that one law firm had pocketed in excess of Sh1.2 billion from the Cayman-based Axiom Legal Financing Fund, a company specialising in funding legal suits. Another management claims firm working with the law firm had received nearly Sh200 million.
In all, a total of seven international law firms and nine based in Kenya are caught up in the scramble.
