Danstan Omari, a prominent city lawyer, has followed through on his threat to sue National Assembly Majority Leader and Kikuyu Members of Parliament Kimani Ichung'wah.
According to Omari, in a February tweet, the legislator implied that he is immoral and frequents the notorious Koinange Street, a hub for commercial sex workers.
Omari is now suing Ichung'wah for Ksh.11 million for alleged defamation, claiming that he is a family man, an advocate for numerous years, and a well-known commentator on various public problems in the media.
During a previous interview on NTV, Omari blamed President William Ruto's government and, more significantly, Ichung'wah for what he called harassment of retired President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Did you read this?
"We have a new rule that wants to drag Uhuru Kenyatta into court, and as lawyers, we'll make money defending him, but what will the impact be?" Globally, the departed President wields considerable power..." Globally, Raila Odinga and Uhuru Kenyatta control 80% of the networks," the attorney stated during the February 1, 2023 interview.
Ichung'wah, on the other hand, did not take the statements lying down, responding to the lawyer in a retweet.
"Phew," he said back. At the very least, my people know me in Kikuyu, as opposed to the phoney media-based liar who is only known along Koinange Street!"
In a previous demand letter filed by his lawyer Brian Mabeya, Omari called the response defamatory and intended to paint him poorly.
As a result, he demanded that the National Assembly Majority Leader retract the tweet above and apologize to him within a week, failing which he threatened to drag him through the courts.
Lawyer Danstan Omari sues MP Ichung'wah over tweet, demands Ksh.11M in damages https://t.co/0UX8RQLS2w
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) April 27, 2023
"The meaning of your prohibited tweet was to portray the individual we represent as a person of loose morals, a person who runs a prostitute business, and an immoral person, despite the fact that our client is an advocate with several years of experience and has been a law lecturer,"
"He is also a father, a married man, and a well-known media commentator on various public issues." Your tweet was thus meant to harm our client's reputation and character in the eyes of the public."