Lawyer Kinyanjui demands Sh50 million in damages over alleged post on Sh25 million claims

Nairobi lawyer Harrison Kinyanjui has demanded Sh50 million in damages from businessman Michael Makarina who allegedly linked him to a Sh25.4 million bribery scheme involving former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.

Through his lawyers, Mbichire & Co. Advocates, Kinyanjui has issued a demand notice to Makarina, who operates the X account @michaelmakarina under the name “Hon. Michael Makarina”.

The dispute arose from a post published on August 17, in which Makarina shared an old video showing a retired judge being arrested by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) following a complaint lodged by Raphael Tuju.

However, the caption accompanying the video alleged that Kinyanjui had been arrested over a Sh25.4 million bribe allegedly intended to influence Supreme Court cases involving Gachagua.

Kinyanjui’s lawyers have described the claims as false, malicious and defamatory.

In a demand letter dated August 17, the lawyers said their client had not been arrested by police or the EACC on the date of the post or at any other time over an alleged bribery scandal.

The lawyers also denied that Kinyanjui had represented Gachagua in any Supreme Court case.

They said a simple check of court records would have established that Kinyanjui had not appeared as an advocate on record for Gachagua in the Supreme Court cases referred to in the post.

The lawyers argued that the publication had damaged Kinyanjui’s reputation and subjected him to ridicule and public disrepute.

They further claimed that the allegations were particularly damaging because Kinyanjui is involved in High Court Constitutional Petition E568 of 2024 concerning Gachagua’s impeachment.

According to the demand letter, the publication had also been archived on various online platforms, allowing the allegations to remain accessible to people conducting searches about the lawyer.

Kinyanjui gave Makarina 24 hours to retract the post and issue an apology in terms approved by him.

He has also demanded that the post be removed from online archives and that Makarina provide confirmation of its removal.

The businessman has further been asked to give a written undertaking not to publish any further defamatory material concerning Kinyanjui.

In addition, Kinyanjui is demanding Sh50 million in damages within seven days.

The lawyers warned that failure to comply would result in legal proceedings, including a report to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations under the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act.

Meanwhile, the EACC has dismissed claims circulating online that it recently arrested a judge and a lawyer over a bribery scheme involving Gachagua.

The commission urged members of the public to disregard unverified information circulating on social media.

“The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has noted social media posts claiming that it has today arrested an Advocate of the High Court and other prominent persons over alleged bribery. The Commission clarifies that no such operation was conducted and the claims are false and misleading. The public is therefore urged to disregard the claims and rely only on official EACC communication for accurate information on the Commission’s operations and activities. EACC remains committed to providing timely and accurate information to the public.”