The feud between State House Director of Digital Communications Dennis Itumbi and Supreme Court Judge Isaac Lenaola could get worse after Itumbi declined to honour an order to apologise over posts he made on his Twitter account regarding the presidential election petition.
In a letter from his Lawyers, Itumbi denied allegations that his Twitter posts were an attack on Justice Lenaola’s character.
He argued that Justice Lenaola holds a State office that attracts vigorous and rigorous public scrutiny, especially when handling and determining disputes relating to the elections of the president.
Itumbi further advised the Judge to develop a thick skin over public scrutiny as the presidential petition filed by National Super Alliance (NASA) Flag bearer Raila Odinga would continue to attract both positive and negative comments from Kenyans.
"The judge’s position as per the constitution places him on a higher pedestal, therefore, he cannot purport to hide under the skirt of a libel suit when scrutinised," Itumbi stated through Chelanga Kihungu Associates.
Itumbi termed the move by the judge to sue him over the alleged offensive posts as an attempt to respond to an earlier petition filed before the Judicial Service Commission seeking his removal from office.
He accused Justice Lenaola of attempting to divert public attention from the grave issues that he was facing instead of responding to the petition filed against him.
Last week, Lenaola wrote to Itumbi accusing him of being the origin of the hashtag #WakoraNetwork under which he posted a series of tweets and made posts on his Twitter and Facebook timelines.
The Judge claimed that the posts meant that there existed a #WakoraNetwork and #EvilSociety in the Judiciary and that the outcome of the presidential petition was plotted in a hospital and apartment by NASA lawyers and politicians.
He further complained that the words indicated that the majority decision in the petition was written by the said #WakoraNetwork, that two Supreme Court judges attended the said venues among others.
Through lawyer Donald Kipkorir's law firm, Justice Lenaola gave Itumbi three days to delete all the tweets and apologise, failure to which he would move to court.
Lenaola had also demanded that the Standard Group issues an immediate and unqualified apology for publishing an article claiming he had private communication with the petitioners during the presidential petition.
Failure to that, the Supreme Court Judge vowed to sue and seek compensatory and punitive damages equal to his estimated earnings for the remainder of his tenure which is about 20 years.
Read More: Supreme Court's Justice Isaac Lenaola Goes After Dennis Itumbi
