Marwa did not defame Mombasa County Speaker, state tells High Court

The State has denied defaming Mombasa County Assembly Speaker Harub Khatri during a press conference by former Coast regional coordinator Nelson Marwa  in January 2016.

 Kipkemboi Rop, a former head of the Flying Squad Unit in Mombasa, while testifying in the State's defence, accused the media of being the authors of the defamatory remarks and not Mr Marwa.

Mr Rop also told Justice Dora Chepkwony that Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho lied to the public that he had been arrested and detained at police headquarters when he had visited Mr Khatri in 2016, thereby causing public anxiety.

Rop was testifying in a case in which Khatri has sued Marwa, now the Devolution principal secretary, for defaming him by claiming he was a drug dealer and a terrorist.

He insisted that the media was responsible for the defamatory remarks that were circulated on social media.

"You cannot defend the defamatory speech that was given by Marwa because you never attended the press conference or watched the news to capture what was said about Khatri," said lawyer Said Ali for the speaker.

Yesterday, Justice Chepkwony allowed Mr Ali to introduce the news clips that captured Marwa issuing a statement on January 13, 2016, where he allegedly defamed his client.

Khatri said that he was unable to sign any new business deals as people who checked out his credentials end up associating him with drug barons.