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A Nairobi court has issued a warrant of arrest against businessman Pius Mbugua Ngugi over unpaid legal fees totaling Sh4,193,578, about $32,500, escalating a dispute with a law firm that previously represented him in a land case.
The warrant was issued by Deputy Registrar Cynthia Mercy Muhoro of the Environment and Land Court, who directed officers at Nairobi Central Police Station to execute the order under Kenya’s civil procedure rules.
Court records cited in the ruling show Ngugi was ordered to settle the amount after a judgment delivered in September 2025. The total includes Sh3,710,630, about $28,800, as the principal sum, Sh475,948, about $3,700, in accrued interest, Sh5,500, about $43, in additional costs and Sh1,500, about $12, in execution related expenses.
The dispute stems from legal services provided by Githogori and Harrison Advocates LLP, which represented Ngugi in Environment and Land Court Case No. 72 of 2018. After the firm’s bill was taxed, Ngugi claimed he had overpaid the advocates by Sh479,369.32, about $3,700, and demanded a refund, according to the court record.
The court found that Ngugi did not successfully challenge the taxed costs through the proper legal steps. Instead, records show he filed a separate application in a different court seeking to stop execution of the decree, arguing the fees had been partially settled. That application was dismissed on Sept. 25, 2025, after the court ruled it lacked jurisdiction to interfere.
Justice Anthony Ombwayo later criticized the attempt to challenge the decree through a separate suit, describing it as an abuse of the court process. He noted that once costs are taxed and a certificate of costs is issued, and no appeal or review is filed, judgment should be entered in favor of the advocate.
Ngugi is a well known figure in Kenyan agribusiness and manufacturing. He is widely associated with the Kenya Nut Company, a processor and exporter of macadamia and cashew nuts that has also been linked to value added products such as coffee, chocolates and edible oils, according to published business profiles.
He has also been linked to the coffee sector through Thika Coffee Mills, which handles coffee milling and exports. In corporate and investment circles, he has been described as having interests in insurance through shareholding in Kenya Alliance Insurance. Other business interests attributed to him in public profiles include an automotive venture known as Amazon Motors, as well as operations described as sweet manufacturing, dairy farming and a winery. He has also been described as a shareholder in the Tatu City real estate development north of Nairobi.
The warrant moves the matter from a paper dispute over costs to a direct enforcement step. The court order authorizes police to arrest Ngugi to answer to the decree unless the outstanding amount is settled or the court issues new directions.
