Why Senator Khalwale Has Sued Kakamega Tycoon

Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale has filed a defamation suit against Kakamega-based businessman Cleophas Shimanyula over remarks he made against him.

In the suit filed at the High Court on Monday, February 19, Khalwale through his lawyer Danstan Omari accused Shimanyula of maliciously publishing false defamatory statements over the death of his worker Kizito Moi.

Khalwale claimed that the remarks were meant to depict him as an irate and hot-tempered individual and embarrassed him and his family.

Addressing the press after filing the suit, Omari said they are seeking to be awarded Sh 200 million in damages.

“The amount of money Boni Khalwale is seeking Sh 200 million the jurisdiction of a magistrates court ends at Sh 20 million that is why we have come to the high court to file that matter there,” said Omari.

The city lawyer pointed out that the remarks by Shimanyula were aimed at demeaning Khalwale’s political and medical career.

“The words that were spoken are words not used in civilized democratic republic like Kenya. They are words that obscene, demeaning, and aimed at the heart of the career of Boni Khalwale as a medical doctor, as a politician, and as a family person,” Omari added.

The vocal lawyer also noted that Khalwale’s three wives will also be suing Shimanyula over the alleged defamatory remarks.

Khalwale’s farmhand died on January 28 after being killed by a bull at his Malinya home in Ikolomani.

However, Shimanyula came out to claim that Moi might have been killed in a love triangle.

"He has been claiming in the media and on online platforms that the bull killed the worker. However, there are reports, which I can't confirm as true, that Khalwalwe murdered the worker," Shimanyula stated.

DCI detectives investigated the death of the farm hand before Government Pathologist Johansen Oduor confirmed Khalwale’s version of events.