Donald Kipkorir is one of the most prominent lawyers in Nairobi. His firm, KTK Advocates, is a leader in commercial law practice in the country and counts major banks, parastatals and corporates among its clients.
Unknown to some, however, the flashy lawyer traces back his success to Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula who gave him his first job.
In past interviews, Kipkorir disclosed that Wetangula hired him at his law firm, Wetangula and Company Advocates, in 1994, and assigned him cases that would go on to build his reputation and network.
"I want to credit my success to my first and last employer: Senator Moses Wetang’ula. I met Moses in April 1994 and I told him that I wanted to join his law firm.
"In the 1990s, he was one of the biggest and most influential lawyers in this country. He was nominated as an MP and had very big clients. He was very close to the system. He hired me," Kipkorir told Business Daily in a past interview.
He revealed in the same interview that he got the opportunity to work on major cases as a rookie because Wetangula was busy in Parliament.
Wetangula was nominated as a Kenya African National Union (Kanu) Member of Parliament in 1992 after the general election.
"One day a client walked into the office. Gulamhussein Sheikh wanted to sue Akasha for a debt worth $3 million (Ksh300 million). Akasha was represented by Satish Gautama, Aurelio Rebelo and OP Nagpal, then Kenya’s biggest lawyers. Mr Wetang’ula asked me to handle the matter, a rookie.
"In fact, my first day in court I remember Mr Gautama asked me how long I’d practiced. I told him about three or four months. He told me, “Young man, I’ve practiced today for 53 years, 11 months,’’ Kipkorir recalled.
Kipkorir described Wetangula as having great intuition, noting that he still abides by advice the senator gave him years ago.
"I think Moses has a gift which people don’t know, an intuition. Kenyans are obsessed with interviews, checking papers and all those things.
"But Moses gave me a lesson which I’ve followed until now, that you act on intuition and on instinct. He gave me a chance and because he was so busy sitting in Parliament, he allowed me to handle some important clients even though I was a rookie," he noted.
Kipkorir went on to establish his own law firm and took on several high-profile cases. Notably, it was Kipkorir who advised Safaricom on their Initial Public Offering (IPO) in 2005.
Strong links with major law firms in East Africa, Europe and beyond have seen Kipkorir's KTK Advocates gain an edge over other Kenyan law firms in handling commercial matters with an international aspect.
