By Sam Alfan.
City lawyer Philip Nyachoti has filed a defamation lawsuit against former Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Nelson Havi over statements published on social media.
In the suit, Nyachoti accuses Havi of making malicious and false claims about him through posts on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
He is seeking a permanent injunction restraining Havi from publishing, posting, disseminating, broadcasting, or in any way making or causing to be made any statements concerning him on X, Facebook, or any other social media platform.
Nyachoti is also seeking general, exemplary, punitive, and aggravated damages for the alleged harm to his personal and professional reputation.
According to court documents, the alleged defamatory statements were posted by Havi on December 22, 2024.
Nyachoti claims that in two posts made on X and Facebook, Havi published false and disparaging remarks about him, knowing the statements to be untrue and intended to harm his reputation.
In one of the posts, Havi reportedly referenced an unnamed Kisii judge and two advocates, one of whom Nyachoti believes was himself. The tweet garnered more than 139,500 views by 11:07 pm on the same day.
Nyachoti alleges that the statements were made with ill intent and malice and were aimed at tarnishing his personal and professional image.
He claims that the posts directly or indirectly questioned his conduct and integrity, thereby lowering his standing in the eyes of right-thinking members of society—especially within the legal fraternity, the judiciary, and among current and prospective clients.
Nyachoti says he had built a solid reputation as an advocate of the High Court of Kenya and widely respected both locally and internationally.
He states that the defamatory remarks were “tailor-made” to incite doubt among his clients and potentially lead to the termination of their professional engagements with him.
He further contends that the motive behind Havi’s statements was to damage his reputation and erode his clientele, which includes top-tier banks and financial institutions, commercial investment and trading companies, manufacturing and construction firms, county governments, and parastatals.
“As a result of the said statements, the Plaintiff has suffered and continues to suffer loss and damage to both his personal and professional reputation, as well as his standing in society,” Nyachoti states in his claim.
He argues that Havi either knew or ought to have known that the statements would portray him as guilty in the eyes of the public and influence negative perception against him.
Nevertheless, he alleges, Havi published the statements with impunity, intending to damage his career, reputation, and social standing.
