One of Kenya’s oldest and most prestigious commercial law firms, Kaplan & Stratton, is facing a deepening crisis as two of its senior partners become entangled in separate but strikingly similar legal controversies.
Both cases revolve around serious allegations of document fraud, fabricated evidence, and manipulation of judicial processes—raising unprecedented questions about the firm’s integrity and future.
At the center of the storm is Senior Counsel Peter Mbuthia Gachuhi, who now faces accusations that could significantly damage the firm’s long-standing reputation. He is alleged to have participated in the forgery of the will of Kenya’s second Attorney General, James Boro Karugu—a man widely respected for his legal brilliance and personal integrity.
The allegations are grave. According to investigators from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Gachuhi, alongside five others, is accused of conspiring to fabricate Karugu’s last will and testament. The DPP approved charges on December 23, 2025, including forgery, uttering false documents, and conspiracy to defraud. For a firm that has historically been associated with major corporate transactions across East Africa, the implications are far-reaching.
James Boro Karugu passed away on November 9, 2022, at the age of 86 at his Kiamara farm in Kiambu County. He was known for his principled leadership, having resigned as Attorney General under President Daniel arap Moi in 1981 rather than compromise his office. After leaving public service, Karugu quietly built a vast private estate spanning over 753 acres across five counties, with additional assets including Treasury bonds worth KSh 404.7 million, shares in Kenya Power and Nation Media Group, and a commercial building along Kenyatta Avenue in Nairobi.
Management of his estate was largely handled through Mathara Holdings Limited, led by his daughter Victoria Nyambura Karugu, especially after he developed dementia in 2015. However, shortly after his burial, a new will dated April 2, 2014, along with a trust deed establishing the JBK Foundation, was presented to family members at what has been described as a carefully staged hotel meeting. Nyambura immediately rejected both documents, insisting that a 2010 will prepared by Patel & Patel Advocates represented her father’s true intentions. She also noted that the contested documents had never been disclosed during Karugu’s lifetime.
Her complaint to the DCI’s Economic and Commercial Crimes Unit triggered a detailed investigation. What followed was a damning forensic analysis. Chief Inspector Duncan Maina, acting for the DCI and DPP, reported that the disputed documents contained grammatical errors, arithmetic inconsistencies, spelling mistakes, and irregular pagination—features inconsistent with the standards expected of a former Attorney General.
Investigators concluded that the documents appeared to have been assembled using a “cut-and-paste” method from multiple sources. Forensic analysis further revealed that the initials on the pages were forged and that the signature page had been fraudulently attached. The execution page also appeared deliberately altered to obscure its page number, suggesting tampering at a critical stage.
Witness testimonies added to the inconsistencies. Individuals listed as witnesses provided conflicting accounts of when and how the will was signed, with some admitting they signed on different dates. None confirmed witnessing the signing by the testator or other trustees, a requirement under Kenyan law.
The DCI’s conclusion was unequivocal: the signatures and initials did not belong to James Boro Karugu. The State described the documents as fundamentally inconsistent with the professional standards of a man of his stature.
Further controversy arises from Gachuhi’s alleged relationship with the deceased. Court filings by Nyambura claim that Gachuhi met Karugu only once in the eight years before his death and was neither present at his funeral nor regarded as a close associate. This raises serious questions about how he came to be named as executor of the disputed will.
The situation is further complicated by an apparent conflict of interest. Kaplan & Stratton had previously represented Karugu in personal legal matters, including disputes involving alleged marital claims. Despite this prior relationship, Gachuhi later filed a petition in July 2023, alongside two others, seeking probate for the contested will. They also sought to have the will sealed from external parties, a move Nyambura argues was intended to block investigators from accessing the document.
She has also alleged that the ultimate goal of the scheme was financial control. According to her, placing the estate under a trust managed by executors linked to the firm would effectively give Kaplan & Stratton control over vast assets for an extended period, generating significant financial returns.
The State formally entered the dispute on February 17, 2026, when Attorney General Dorcas Oduor opposed the petition, describing it as incompetent and an abuse of the court process. The Attorney General emphasised that criminal investigations into forgery cannot be halted by ongoing succession proceedings.
Meanwhile, the legal battle has been complicated by conflicting forensic reports. While the DCI’s findings point to forgery, a separate report by Anthony Ngige of Stealth Africa Consulting disputes these conclusions, arguing that there is no evidence of document manipulation and attributing signature variations to natural differences.
As this legal confrontation unfolds, a second scandal has compounded the firm’s troubles. On February 16, 2026, former Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju filed a criminal complaint against Senior Counsel Fred Ojiambo, the firm’s most senior partner.
Tuju’s allegations centre on a 27-acre property in Karen valued at approximately KSh 1.5 billion, tied to a long-running dispute with the East African Development Bank. He claims that Ojiambo and other lawyers at the firm presented affidavits containing false information and improperly commissioned documents in court proceedings.
Tuju further alleged that Ojiambo secured recognition of diplomatic immunity for the bank—a claim he insists has no legal basis—and that this move stalled a criminal case for over a year. He also accused the firm of using a fraudulent international arrest warrant as a tool of intimidation.
Ojiambo has firmly denied all allegations, maintaining that no false documents were presented in court. However, the matter has escalated further, with a complaint filed before the Senior Counsel Committee seeking to strip Ojiambo and former Attorney General Githu Muigai of their Senior Counsel status on grounds of professional misconduct.
These overlapping controversies have placed Kaplan & Stratton at a critical crossroads. Once regarded as a pillar of legal excellence and stability, the firm now finds itself at the centre of one of the most significant legal scandals in Kenya’s history.
While all parties remain innocent until proven guilty, the reputational impact is already being felt. For a firm whose value has long been anchored in trust, discretion, and credibility, the unfolding events raise profound questions about its future.
At the heart of it all lies the legacy of James Boro Karugu—a man who built his career on integrity and refused to compromise his principles. The fact that his name and estate are now central to such a high-stakes legal battle adds a layer of irony that continues to resonate across Kenya’s legal and public spheres.
