Nairobi billionaire and businessman Mike Maina Kamau has obtained orders barring Dennis Itumbi from defaming him after associating him with United Democratic Alliance (UDA).
The businessman sued Itumbi for claiming in his Hustler Nation Intelligence Bureau (HNIB) posts that he mobilised 3,500 employees to vote for the UDA candidate in the Kiambaa by-election despite pocketing money from the alleged deep state.
Judge Jaden Thuranira ruled that Itumbi should not make defamatory statements or publish content against Maina.
“A temporary injunction be and is hereby issued for 30 days from September 24, directed at the defendant (Itumbi) restraining him from making any defamatory statements and or making any defamatory publications in reference to the plaintiff (Maina),” the judge ruled.
Maina, through his lawyer Ochieng' Oduor, told the court that the publication by Itumbi was maliciously calculated to demean his character.
“Our instructions are that the said publication was maliciously calculated to disparage our client in his character as an astute businessman. The malicious intent is palpable in the fact that the publication was not premised on any ascertainable facts,” Oduor stated.
He added that as the post by Itumbi bared no ascertainable facts, that could lead to irreparable damage to the businessman's reputation.
“As a consequence of this our client has been brought to pubic hatred, pillory, ridicule, contempt, odium and will be disgraced, humiliated, subjected to untold embarrassment and ostracized for which he holds you liable,” he added.
Prior to the court order, Maina sent Itumbi a demand letter dated September 22, requiring him to withdraw the post within an hour.
The city tycoon has been linked to prime property in Nairobi - including the Marble Arch Hotel in the CBD.
Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko lifted a lid on Maina's quiet world when he leaked a phone conversation where he had thrown insults at Maina - over demolitions done in Kayole.
The defamation suit also comes a few days after a magistrate found that Itumbi had a case to answer in court, involving a fake letter alleging a plan to take out Deputy President Ruto.
The court noted that Itumbi and his co-accused blogger Samwel Gateri published a letter dated May 30, 2019, with the intent to cause anxiety to the public.
However, the charge of publishing a false statement is premised in Section 66 of the Penal Code, which was declared as unconstitutional by the High Court.
