Gatundu Member of Parliament Moses Kuria with his lawyer Danson Mungatana outside Milimani law courts after court issued oerder restraining him from defaming NARC KENYA party leader Martha Karua on Wednesday October 1,2015.
BY SAM ALFAN.
High court has issued temporary orders restraining Gatundu Member of Parliament Moses Kuria from further defaming NARC KENYA party leader Martha Karua.
Justice Sergon issued the order this afternoon restraining the Gatundu South legislator from issuing any statement on the media or any platform pertaining Ms Karua reputation or in any manner mentioning her on any forum since it will be injurious to her reputation.
“I have considered the submissions of both sides.However,I hereby issue an order restraining the respondents from making any further statement on any forum since it will be injurious to the reputation of the plaintiff for the next 14 days” Said Sergon.
The judge said Mr Kuria won’t suffer any prejudice if the orders are issued by the court restraining him from issuing any statement that is viewed as defamatory to Ms Karua.
This is despite Kuria’s lawyer Danson Mungatana opposed the application seeking orders against his client clamming he was not served by Senior Counsel Gitobu Imanyara despite endless calls and messages seeking to be served by him.
Gatundu South Member of Parliament Moses Kuria was sued two weeks ago by Narc Kenya Party leader Martha Karua through his lawyer Senior Counsel Gitobu Imanyara over remarks he made in a political rally linking her to witness soliciting in order to fix the Deputy President at the ICC.
The Narc Kenya leader said that on the evening of Sunday, she was shocked to hear her name being adversely mentioned by the MP at a Prayer meeting held at Kapsikwony, Bungoma County.
Mr Kuria said that, he with others and Ms Karua were involved in drafting a letter that was sent to the International Criminal Court implicating the Deputy President for Crimes against Humanity.
She in response contacted her lawyer Gitobu Imanyara who was of the opinion that Mr Kuria’s words were defamatory, libelous and actionable. Similarly, she held a press conference at her NARC KENYA offices where she demanded an apology from the MP.
She said that instead of apologizing, Mr Kuria held a press conference at Parliament buildings where he reiterated the same words he had spoken at Kapsikwony.
“In addition, he stated that I met him together with others at Club Galileo in Westlands where we devised a scheme to recruit witnesses against the Deputy President for the case against him,” Ms Karua said.
Following the disputed General Elections of December 2007, the ensuing Post Election Violence in 2007/2008 and mediation efforts led by Mr. Kofi Annan, Ms Karua was appointed Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister.
She would, in her stature as minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, extensively interact with the various efforts and commissions involved in investigating the events of the Post-Election Violence, the Victims of the said Post Election violence as well as investigators from the International Criminal Court as Government of Kenya representative.
Ms Karua stated that Kuria’s statements have highly injured her reputation implying that she was not a diligent and trustworthy public servant as a Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs and that she was involved in bribing people to testify against the Deputy President.
“Unless the Defendant is compelled by this Honorable Court to cease from maligning my name and further injuring my reputation, I stand to suffer irreparable harm from his reckless and unwarranted attack on my integrity on grounds which he cannot substantiate,” the Narc Kenya chair said.
Lawyer Imanyara in the same light said that the words were calculated to paint the Ms Karua in negative light as the person behind the Criminal Case against the Deputy President, which words were scandalous, malicious, unwarranted and defamatory in the extreme.
He said that the words implied that Ms Karua had a corrupt interest in the ongoing cases at the ICC and had obtained corrupt benefits or advantages during her tenure as a Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs.
The lawyer also said that Mr Kuria implied that, “The plaintiff was a part of a criminal enterprise gang comprising of among others, the Defendant whose principal purpose was to interfere with the administration of justice at the ICC in breach of the Statute of the International Criminal Court and the Kenyan penal laws.”
Mr Imanyara also cautioned the court that pending the hearing and determination of the suit, Gatundu south MP should be restrained from issuing any statement on any media platform that pertains to the Applicant and her reputation, or in any manner from mentioning the Ms Karua’s name in any forum as would be defamatory, libelous and injurious to her reputation.
