Senior Counsel Philip Murgor is battling to get paid Ksh360 million after representing Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) in a multi-billion case in 2014.
In submissions to the court, the lawyer sought to cross-examine the government parastatal's chief legal officer Stanley Manduku for non-payment after offering legal services.
Murgor justified his request stating that he was seeking to establish whether the senior official was attempting to defraud him of his legal fees.
"To establish his motive to adduce evidence on matters that are not within his personal knowledge, when the concerned officers and former officials are all available to swear affidavits,” he stated.
In response, Manduku argued against his cross-examination stating there was no justifiable basis for it.
Murgor represented KPC in a case for a 450-kilometre pipeline from Mombasa to Nairobi worth Ksh43 billion before the Public Procurement and Administrative Review Board.
He further represented the company before a high court in a case seeking the tendering process stopped over allegations of discrimination.
Murgor won the case as the matter was dismissed and the contract awarded to a Lebanese company Zakhem International Construction.
The lawyer claimed that KPC had never paid him any money including instruction fees, photocopying costs, and appearance in court fees.
Failure by the firm to settle the costs prompted Murgor to bill KPC in court.
Negotiations began and the then-Attorney General Githu Muigai, advised KPC that the fee should not exceed Ksh5 million.
Murgor in an earlier application moved to have Muigai and his law firm barred from representing KPC in a dispute over his legal fees.
