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Omari defamation case takes surprising new twist after Ichung'wah response

 

Kimani Ichung'wah, the Kikuyu MP, has denied ever making a derogatory tweet against City Attorney Danstan Omari, who has filed a lawsuit against him and is seeking Sh11 million in damages.

Ichung'wah had allegedly tweeted, "Phew, at least I am known in Kikuyu by my people unlike the fake media-based liar only known along Koinange Street!"

The MP, however, denies making any of the allegedly defamatory statements or tweets against Omari in his answer to the lawsuit.

“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,” the affidavit reads.

The lawmaker goes on to explain that Omari was not mentioned or given credit for the statements in the tweet, which can only be characterised as fair remarks.

In addition, Ichung'wah has requested the court to refrain from granting conservatory orders to Omari, who he wants to prevent from publishing any damaging material about him while the matter is still being heard.

The MP contends via attorney Cecil Millier that Omari's application aims to restrict his constitutionally protected right to free expression.

“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 is indeed proven defamatory utterances by myself in the future,” read court papers.

In his follow-up reaction to Ichung'wah, Omari claims that Ichung'wah's tweet was intended as a caption for a comment made in response to a video of him that was broadcast by NTV Kenya's Twitter account following an interview he gave at the network.

He asserts that Ichung'wah made a malicious and deliberate effort to harm his reputation.

He further claims that the claim that he is only recognised in the notoriously dubbed "red light district" of Nairobi, Koinange Street, was made in an effort to portray him as an immoral person who associates with prostitutes.

He asserts that the aforementioned tweet has had over 191,000 views, 139 retweets, 26 quotations, and 1,123 likes, all of which plainly indicate that a very high number of people have seen it.

On August 14, the case will be discussed for further instructions.    

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