Citizen TV anchor Jeff Koinange had been trying to secure an interview with former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga for a long time and finally succeeded when the veteran jurist appeared on Wednesday, October 21, 2020.
At the start of the interview, Koinange asked why Mutunga was not enthusiastic to come to his show in the past.
The former chief justice outlined what he did not like about the JKLive show host.
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“I was afraid to come to the bench, I didn’t like your theatrics and your drama," the legal mind started.
Mutunga explained that he was referring to certain elements of the show such as the extinguisher which Jeff uses to symbolise intense debates.
The news anchor is also known for his line of questioning that puts his guest on the spot and sometimes at pains to answer.
This, Mutunga said, did not favour him because it requires guests to come up with responses on the fly, which he could not.
"I want us to be conversational. I do not think on my feet; I have a reflective brain," the former CJ set the tone of the interview.
He added that he likes to digest and think about the topic or question at hand before proceeding to give his views.
On that note, he asked not to contribute to the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report because he had not adequately studied it.
Koinange's interviews are known to be heated (hence the fire extinguisher) and have produced moments that are likely to be remembered for years to come.
In an interview in June 2019, Jeff cut short a show with Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko when the county boss did not heed to the broadcast media laws by throwing accusations at Nairobi Women Rep Esther Passaris despite cautions by the anchor.
At the height of the discussion, the journalist encouraged Sonko to spray the extinguisher in the studio to signify how hot the topic was.
During an October 2019 interview on JKLive, the outspoken trade unionist smashed his phone in the studio while asserting his prediction that Deputy President William Ruto would not emerge victorious in 2022.
