I will not apologise: Ombudsman tells Sam Ongeri

Chairperson of the Commission on Administrative Justice ``Ombudsman ``Otiende Amollo. [PHOTO: COLLINS KWEYU/STANDARD ]

NAIROBI, KENYA: The Ombudsman has said that his office will not apologise to Kenya's Ambassador to the United Nations Habitat Prof. Sam Ongeri for naming him as a beneficiary of plot allegedly acquired illegally in Kisii.

This comes after Prof Ongeri lawyers wrote a demand letter to the Ombudsman asking the office to apologise and withdraw the claims against him or face two lawsuits. This sets the stage for a legal battle between the envoy and the Office of the Ombudsman

"We don't plan to apologise for exposing what we believe to be irregularities in the acquisition of the plot in question in Kisii Municipal Market,” Amollo told The Standard on the phone

He added: "We have received correspondence from Prof Ongeri's lawyers and we are now drafting an appropriate response but we will not apologise. We consider the investigations we carried out as thorough and credible."

In his letter to Amollo demanding an apology, Prof Ongeri asserted that he has been defamed by the report and press statement issued by the Ombudsman which were released to the public on October 2014.

Through his lawyer, Justry Nyaberi, he said that if the Ombudsman does not apologise, they will face two court cases, one being for defamation and the other seeking to expunge Prof Ongeri from the Ombudsman report.

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"The press statement was defamatory as a whole but in particular by stating that "...The findings are an indictment of four key personalities who have served in various regimes of Government including Prof Sam Kegengo Ongeri who in 1982 acquired Kisii Municipality Block 111/258 (0.0459 ha)- yet to be developed-while serving as a Minister for Local Government;"

Ongeri's lawyer said the Ombudsman misrepresented, either negligently or intentionally, the fact that he was at the time of acquiring the land a Minister of Local Government insisting that Prof Ongeri was not a minister at the time but a lecturer at the University Of Nairobi School Of Medicine.

"Therefore the allegation that he abused his power as a Minister to acquire the land while in fact he was a lecturer at that time is misleading, careless and untruthful and amounts to defamation," he said.

Regarding the Ombudsman claim that Prof Ongeri abused power to acquire the plot, his lawyer said the charge was untenable since Prof Ongeri was not a Minister at the time The Ombudsman was also accused of discussing the matter while knowing that it is still in court

Ongeri also denied the Ombudsman claim that the cases involving the plot were due for mention on the 13th March 2008.

"The case was coming up for ruling as late as the 25th October 2013. By stating a date as far back as March 2008, your press statement clearly shows lack of due diligence and a reckless disregard of the true facts of the case which amounts to malicious defamation." he said.