Karua wants Kuria gagged from making any further statements against her. Photo/ FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept 24 – Former Justice Minister Martha Karua has filed a suit in the High Court seeking to restrain Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria from adversely linking her to the International Criminal Court case that Deputy President William Ruto is facing in the Hague.
Karua is also seeking damages for the damage her reputation has already suffered on account of Kuria’s assertion that she colluded with him to, “procure,” witnesses who would testify against Ruto in the crimes against humanity case he is facing for the 2008 post-election violence.
“On September 21, at a political meeting disguised as a prayer rally held at Kapsikwony, Bungoma County the defendant uttered knowing that his utterances would be picked, published and widely disseminated by various news outlets the words to the effect:
‘I was part of the team that wrote a letter to the International Criminal Court and this was political theatrics and we need to tell Kenyans the truth… I am ready to call on Martha Karua… come and tell us that it was only a political game…’”
In an affidavit, Karua swears to the court that she gave Kuria the opportunity to retract his disparaging remarks, which he failed to do.
Instead, she says, he went ahead to drag her name even deeper into the mire. “On September 22 the defendant issued a statement from Parliament Buildings to the effect that he had met with the Plaintiff at Club Galileo in Westlands where they drafted a letter and schemed on how to recruit false witnesses against accused persons at the International Criminal Court including Deputy President William Ruto.”
Kuria’s actions, Karua contends, violate the principles expected of elected leaders as outlined in Chapter six of the Constitution.
Given, Karua says, the aforementioned statements are untrue and therfore made in malice. “The plaintiff has never met the defendant to draft a letter to the ICC or to plot a case against anyone at the ICC or elsewhere or recruit witnesses to give false evidence against anyone at any time in her life,” the suit papers read.
The matter was certified as urgent on Thursday with an intre-parties hearing scheduled for October 1.
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