French printing firm withdraws suit against Raila and opposition leaders

Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga. [Edward Kiplimo/Standard]

A French firm has withdrawn its defamation case against Raila Odinga and other opposition leaders.

The firm, which supplied polling equipment to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) in last year's poll, had sued the opposition leaders over rigging claims.

Safran and OT-Morpho, alongside it’s top level managers- Laurent Lambert, Alex Lambert and Bavly Farag- had sued National Super Alliance (NASA) leaders Raila, Kalonzo Musyoka, Musalia Mudavadi, Moses Wetang'ula, Junet Mohamed and communication manager Phillip Etale.

The firm wanted the six blocked from making further rigging claims against it and compensation for defamation.

Close file

Last Thursday, the firm asked the court to close the file as it did not want to pursue the case anymore. It, however, did not give reasons for withdrawing the suit.

The French company supplied the Sh3.8 billion Kenya Integrated Election Management System (KIEMS) kits used to identify voters.

According to Safran, the claims by NASA leaders were lies that hurt its reputation.

The firm had said its business to supply security and identity gadgets in the country and abroad was in jeopardy out of the claims by the three leaders.

But the opposition leaders in their separate replies denied defaming the company. In his reply, Raila denied authoring a letter said to have been sent to the French government calling for the company’s head of the Kenyan project, Laurent Lambert, and head of analytics, Axel Gaucher, to be punished.

Raila argued that sentiments on rigging emanated from a Supreme Court’s judgement.

Kalonzo and Mudavadi fronted a similar defence.