Nairobi, July 10 -- Businessman Ngugi Kiuna has failed in his bid to stop a law firm from pursuing more than Sh189 million in legal fees over its alleged representation of his company, Maxam Ltd, in a long-running commercial dispute against Dutch beer giant Heineken.

The High Court declined to halt taxation proceedings initiated by the firm of Okoth & Kiplagat Advocates, ruling that Mr Kiuna's objections should be determined by the court handling the advocate-client bill of costs.

"The matters raised in the Certificate of Urgency may be raised before the Deputy Registrar, who shall be at liberty to give directions or determine whether there is need to refer the matter to a judge before taxation or await the filing of a reference, if any...