Former Chief Justice David Maraga has sued Senior Counsel Ahmednassir Abdullahi over a tweet which he says is defamatory.
Justice (rtd) Maraga who described himself also as an elder of the Seventh Day Adventist Church said the tweet by the lawyer insinuated that he (Maraga) was not a person of good character.
The tweet indicated that Justice (rtd) Maraga was silent on alleged corruption in court even though it described him as a decent and honest Kenyan.
The tweet attracted 565 comments, 381 retweets and 2,500 likes from Ahmednassir’s followers.
But the former CJ says the words of the senior counsel were intended to portray him as a dishonest, indecent Kenyan who was aware of senior judges who had collected a Sh220 million bribe.
In the eyes of the common Kenyan, he said, he looked like one who condoned and concealed the name and identity of the said judge.
According to Maraga, the tweet came across as if he committed a criminal offence by failing to report allegations of bribery and corruption in the Judiciary.
He said those words were false and were presented as the absolute truth clearly to disparage and injure his character.
“The said publication was both reckless and malicious in the extreme and was designed and intended to inflict maximum reputational damage on the plaintiff (Maraga),” read the suit papers filed by the former CJ through the law firm of Tripple O.
He noted that the Senior Counsel despite his tweet did not file any complaint with relevant authorities or initiate proceedings for the removal of the judge in question but opted to tweet about the allegations.
Ahmednassir, he said, is liable for harm occasioned to his reputation.
He now wants the court to make a declaration that the tweet complained off is defamatory.
Also sought is an order to compel the senior counsel to apologize for the tweet, in the Daily Nation and Standard newspapers.
The former CJ is also seeking that the lawyer be barred permanently from making any defamatory statements against him and compensate him for damages already caused by the tweet.
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