{
  "id": 3553971,
  "title": "MPs question Sh342.8mn IRA payment to law firm over legal fees dispute",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/mps-question-sh342-8mn-ira-payment-to-law-firm-over-legal-fees-dispute",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-26T16:40:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Capital FM Kenya",
    "slug": "capital-fm-kenya",
    "url": "https://capitalfm.africa/mps-question-sh342-8m-ira-payment-to-law-firm-over-legal-fees-dispute/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) disbursed Sh342.8 million to a law firm amid a legal fees disagreement, prompting a Public Investments Committee on Commercial Affairs and Energy to question the regulatory body’s actions. The committee, led by Pokot South MP David Pkosing, pointed out that the law firm was granted permission to represent IRA in court even before a final fee agreement was reached. The committee also expressed concerns over the accrued interest of Sh79.8 million following IRA's delayed settlement of a previous court ruling in favor of the law firm. According to the Auditor-General's report, IRA hired the firm to represent it in a legal dispute involving a liquidated insurance company that had sued the regulator. However, the two parties could not agree on the final payment amount for the legal services. The advocate initially demanded Sh176.1 million, based on the claim of the liquidated insurer, while IRA was willing to pay Sh875,197, according to the audited financial statements of the insurance company. This dispute eventually led to a court battle, with IRA challenging the award and failing to secure a stay of execution. The regulator's attempts at resolution through mediation also fell through. Subsequently, the law firm sought court orders to compel IRA to pay the awarded amount, resulting in the recovery of Sh15 million from IRA's bank account and further orders for the outstanding balance by May 2023. IRA managed to recover a total of Sh303.8 million through various court orders, leading to the National Treasury granting a supplementary budget approval on May 29, 2023. The committee questioned the timing of the law firm's initial court involvement before concluding their contractual negotiations and the role of IRA's internal legal department in the dispute. IRA's CEO, Godfrey Kiptum, explained that the firm had to act quickly due to the case circumstances and that the advocate started working while negotiations were still underway, but they ultimately failed to agree on the fees. The committee sought further clarity on IRA’s procedures for engaging external lawyers, including prequalification requirements for law firms, and demanded information about the internal legal department's status and operations, as well as the officials overseeing the contractual negotiations between IRA and the law firm.",
  "summary": "The payment came under scrutiny on Wednesday when MPs questioned how the law firm was allowed to represent the regulator in court before a final agreement on its fees was reached.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}