Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) nominee for Starehe Parliamentary seat Steve Mbogo has moved to court seeking an order restraining four media houses from running an alleged investigative story linking him to a defilement case.
The self-proclaimed billionaire, in a petition filed at a Nairobi High Court, noted that he had received information indicating that the media houses were working on an investigative story linking him to a defilement case in which he was cleared over five years ago.
The Starehe parliamentary aspirant argues that the story could injure his reputation in the August election and change the opinion of his supporters against him.
“If that story is allowed to run, it will cause me untold suffering and prejudice since the general voting public will get the same through the media complex network that I cannot match in correcting the impression it will have caused,” Mbogo stated.
Mr Mbogo now wants the court to issue an order prohibiting the Nation Media Group, the People Daily, the Standard Group and the Star newspaper from publishing the stories.
He (Mbogo) noted that it was just equitable and in the interest of fairness to him that the court restrained the media houses from running the story.
“Pending the hearing and determination of this application, an order of injunction be issued restraining the four media houses either in person or through an agent from serialising, covering or in any other manner reporting the proceedings, judgment or any other aspect touching on a Kibera chief magistrate criminal case and a Nairobi High Court criminal appeal,” Mbogo's petition read in part.
Mbogo accused his opponents in the Starehe race of raising the issue stating that following his clearance to run for the Starehe seat, 'the media in apparent cahoots with his opponents have indicated they are working on the story."
In 2009, the businessman was charged with the offence of defilement at Kibera Law Courts but filed an appeal at Nairobi High Court where he was cleared of all the charges.
Mr Mbogo is seeking to be the next Starehe Member of Parliament and will face off with popular musician Charles Njagua aka Jaguar (Jubilee) and activist Boniface Mwangi of Ukweli Party among others.
