Lawyer Peter Wanyama Clashes with Gloria Orwoba over KSh 10m Defamation Case: "I'll Show No Mercy"
- A Nairobi court ruled against former senator Gloria Orwoba in a defamation case, ordering her to pay KSh 10.5 million
- The court found that her social media claims against Senate clerk Jeremiah Nyegenye were false and malicious
- A fierce online clash followed the ruling, with Orwoba accusing Nyegenye's lawyer of harassment and the lawyer vowing to recover every coin
TUKO.co.ke journalist Harry Ivan Mboto has over three years of experience reporting on politics and current affairs in Kenya
A heated defamation case has landed former senator Gloria Orwoba in deeper trouble, with a Nairobi court slapping her with a multimillion-shilling penalty and a stern warning.
Source: UGC
The court on Tuesday, July 15, found her guilty of defaming Senate clerk Jeremiah Nyegenye and ordered her to pay KSh 10.5 million in damages.
This followed a ruling that her past claims, shared widely on social media, accusing Nyegenye of making sexual advances, were false, malicious, and intended to injure his reputation.
In addition to the financial penalty, Orwoba was directed to issue a public apology within 30 days. Failure to do so would attract an extra KSh 1 million fine.
How did Orwoba react to the defamation ruling?
Despite the ruling, Orwoba remained defiant, taking to social media to accuse her accusers of using the courts to silence her activism against sexual harassment within Parliament.
“There is always a price to pay when fighting the good fight,” she posted. “Jeremiah Nyegenye, you can use legal loopholes to win cases, but just share the Senate travel report. We all know what happens in Parliament, and no one has investigated or cleared you for sexual harassment.”
Her remarks triggered a fiery response from lawyer Peter Wanyama, who represented Nyegenye in court.
Wanyama dismissed Orwoba’s reaction as baseless and insisted that the court had rigorously examined the evidence before reaching its verdict.
“The court found you to be a perennial liar and a cheat. I will fully recover the entire KSh 11.5 million damages for my client. There will be no mercy,” he stated.
Source: Facebook
Orwoba involved in online spat with Nyegenye
The online spat escalated when Orwoba accused Wanyama of stalking and harassing her through social media, terming his conduct unethical and beyond his legal mandate.
“As an advocate, it is quite unprofessional and uncouth for you to be following me around on my social media pages and threatening me as you are doing, and doing so in public. Your instructions are limited to mitigating any such cases in court,” she responded.
"If you have any further communication, go through my lawyers otherwise you are a whole advocate, stop behaving like a child in a candy store. You are an advocate of the high court," she added.
Wanyama warned the former legislator against further attacks online, accusing her of exercabating the problem instead of apologising.
The advocate claimed he cross-examined the outspoken politician for five hours and came to the conclusion that she was not truthful.
He went further to warn that he would not show any sympathy when the time to collect the KSh 10.5 million from the former senator finally comes.
However, Orwoba remained defiant, saying no amount of intimidation would deter her from speaking her mind and seeking legal redress until justice is served.
It is not clear if the youthful politician, who has styled herself as a gender activist, has filed the appeal or not.
For the last two years, the former lawmaker has been at the centre of controversy, often stemming from gender-related issues such as sexual harassment, femicide and menstrual hygiene.
Why was Orwoba suspended from Senate?
TUKO.co.ke previously reported that Orwoba was suspended from the Senate after she posted a series of explosive claims on the Senate Business WhatsApp group.
Her messages included accusations of sexual favours, corruption, discrimination and kickbacks within parliament.
The Committee on Powers and Privileges found that Orwoba failed to provide evidence to support the allegations.
Her conduct was deemed a breach of parliamentary privilege, prompting the committee to recommend her suspension for gross misconduct.
In May, the ruling United Democratic Alliance party expelled her, citing gross disloyalty and betrayal of party ideals, formally requesting her removal from the Senate
Proofreading by Jackson Otukho, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
