National Assembly Majority Leader and Kikuyu Member of Parliament Kimani Ichung'wah, on Monday, July 3, filed a response to a case in which Lawyer Danstan Omari had sued him for defamation.
In his replying affidavit, Ichung'wah claimed that Omari's suit against him was baseless since he did not take part in making any defamatory tweets against the city lawyer.
If anything, Ichung'wah claimed the tweets upon which Omari's suit was grounded could only be termed fair comments and were not directed to him as an individual.
“I am a stranger to any purported allegations of defamation, and I have gone through the purported publication, if any, and I do not find any defamatory words at all,” Kimani's affidavit read in part.
He, therefore, observed that Omari had failed to prove that the tweets were harmful and injured his reputation, as alleged in his application.
The Kikuyu MP also attempted to turn the tables on Omari's prayers. The lawyer had asked the judge to bar the National Assembly Majority Leader and his agents from publishing any defamatory information about him pending the hearing of the case.
Ichung'wah, in response, asked the judge not to issue a conservatory order sought by Omari, claiming that there was no basis for the lawyer to make such prayers.
“This freedom of expression should not be taken away on account of personal rights. Further, the application can have recourse in the way of damages if there are indeed proven defamatory utterances by myself in the future.
"The applicant has failed to demonstrate to this honourable court that there is a threat of any defamatory publication to warrant the granting of injunctive relief as prayed for by the applicant," Ichung'wah stated in his affidavit.
At the heart of the legal suit is a video posted by NTV on Twitter. In the video, Omari was commenting on the state of the nation, including the national police. By virtue of his position as National Assembly Majority Leader, the comments attracted Ichung'wah's attention.
According to Omari, Ichung'wah's comments meant that he was a fake media-based liar, which is malicious and was a calculated move to injure his reputation and that of his profession.
Further, the Nairobi City Lawyer claimed that Ichung'wah's comment garnered over 191,000 views, 139 retweets, 26 quotes and 1,123 likes, indicating that his reputation was damaged due to the Kikuyu MP's actions.
The matter will be heard on August 14, when the presiding judge will issue direction on the matter already proving to be a legal battle pitting two titans.
