Court halts Kipkorir's Sh1m payout, orders Muthaiga Club to release Sh500,000

The High Court has issued an order halting the payout of the Sh1 million compensation awarded to prominent Nairobi lawyer Donald Kipkorir against Muthaiga Country Club for denying him access to the club.
However, Justice Patricia Nyaundi ordered the club to immediately pay Lawyer Kipkorir half of the decretal sum amounting to Sh500,000 within 14 days, while the remaining Sh500,000 is to be deposited in a joint interest-earning account operated by lawyers for both parties pending the outcome of the intended appeal.

"The balance of justice requires an order that preserves the substratum of the appeal without extinguishing Kipkorir 's legitimate expectations under the judgment," Justice Nyaundi ruled.

The dispute arose from Kipkorir's petition challenging what he termed the illegal denial of access to Muthaiga Country Club.

Lawyer Kipkorir sued Muthaiga Country Club PLC and 17 of its officials, including Chairman John Ngumi and directors Vijay Vashdev Gidoomal and Roger Bebbington, over what he termed the illegal denial of access to the Club's premises

He cited violations of Articles 1(1), 2(1), 3(1), 10, 19, 20(1), 22(1), 27, 28, 39, 47, 258(1) and 259 of the Constitution of Kenya.

The Club and its officials had filed an application on December 5, 2025, seeking to freeze the entire judgment issued on November 7, 2025, compelling it to pay Sh1 million as compensation, arguing that they had already lodged an intended appeal at the Court of Appeal and that immediate execution could render the appeal nugatory.

In an affidavit sworn by 4th Respondent Jonathan Stewart Philip Coulson, the club officials argued that unless a stay was granted, any successful appeal would be rendered nugatory because Kipkorir might be unable to refund the decretal sum.

"We are apprehensive that we may not recover the money should the appeal succeed, as Kipkorir's financial means were unknown," the club and its officials submitted.

The Club offered to deposit the full Sh1 million into a joint interest-earning account between counsel as security pending the appeal.

Kipkorir opposed the application, arguing it was an abuse of court process designed to delay and deny him the fruits of his judgment.

He maintained that the respondents had failed to demonstrate the substantial loss they would suffer if stay orders were denied.

Justice Nyaundi noted that the law requires courts to balance the right of a successful litigant to enjoy the fruits of judgment against the right of an unsuccessful party to pursue an appeal.

The judge found that the applicants had demonstrated sufficient grounds to warrant preservation of the appeal process.

"I am persuaded that the applicants have presented an arguable appeal. Their motion was filed without undue delay, and they have exhibited commendable good faith by offering security for the due performance of the decree," Justice Nyaundi ruled.

However, the court also emphasised Kipkorir's standing as a successful litigant and rejected suggestions that he would be unable to refund the money if the appeal eventually succeeded.

"It is uncontested that the Petitioner is a well-established advocate of considerable professional standing," the judge said.

The court further observed: "On the evidence, and drawing reasonable inferences, an advocate whose clientele includes members of the distinguished Muthaiga Country Club cannot credibly be characterised as a man of straw."

Justice Nyaundi stated that justice required preserving the subject matter of the appeal while also safeguarding Kipkorir's rights under the judgment.

The Club and its 17 officials, named in the petition as respondents alongside Club officials Caroline Wangari Muriuki, Gordon Weston Sinclaire, Matthew Rudd, John Bevil, and others, must now comply with both conditions within 14 days or risk execution proceedings on the portion already due to Kipkorir.

This is even as the appeal now proceeds to the Court of Appeal, where Muthaiga Country Club and its officials will seek to overturn the High Court judgment in the membership dispute involving Kipkorir.