I did not defame you, Odinga tells CBK chair Mohammed Nyaoga

CORD leader Raila Odinga, through his lawyer Paul Mwangi, has issued a detailed response to claims of defamation by Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Board chair Mohammed Nyaoga.

In the letter addressed to Nyaoga’s legal team on Wednesday, Mwangi said Nyaoga was a “person of interest” in regards to the Eurobond saga questioning how the term is tantamount to defamation.

“First, it is not clear which words uttered by our client, of and concerning your client, were offensive. It is also not clear what is the meaning, in the ordinary sense or by way of innuendo, that your client ascribes to the offensive words and how that meaning has defamed your client.”

“Secondly, it is not clear whether your client, by denying that he is a person of interest to the Eurobond saga is denying that there is authority that is bestowed on him by the Central Bank of Kenya Act and similarly denying that there are duties placed on him by the Constitution of Kenya, the Public Officer Ethics and the said Central Bank of Kenya.”

He stated that as long as Nyaoga is the chairman of CBK board then he remains a person of interest in the Eurobond saga.

“It is unbelievable that in this day and age your client can contemplate legal proceedings from which he confidently expect a judicial outcome that would absolve him from all obligations placed on him by the Constitution and the Law.”

Mwangi said that Nyaoga’s mentioning, in Odinga’s presentation on the Eurobond saga last Friday, was attributed to the fact that he was the chair of CBK when the issue of Eurobond arose.

“For close to half a year now, this nation has been in the midst of a controversy regarding the handling of a Sovereign Bond taken out by the National Treasury for and on behalf of the Republic of Kenya.”

“Among the critical questions that have arisen in the controversy is how the CBK has handled the proceeds of the Sovereign Bond and whether these proceeds have ever been remitted to the Republic of Kenya.”

The ODM party leader further accused Nyaoga of failing to propel CBK to live up to its Constitutional requirement to publish and publicize any important information affecting the nation, in accordance with Article 53 of the Constitution.

Nyaoga was named along with National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich, Treasury Principal Secretary Kamau Thugge and Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua in Raila Odinga’s presentation on the Eurobond saga.

Former CBK Governor Prof. Njuguna Ndung’u also featured in the list.

Nyaoga had claimed that he was not, in any way, involved in the saga threatening to take legal action against Odinga for defaming him.

On Tuesday, CORD legislators, led by Machakos Senator Johnston Muthama, warned some of the people named in the list against threatening to sue Odinga saying any attempts to do so would be met with resistance.

By @benjaminwafula