Senior lawyers Ahmednasir Abdullahi and Donald Kipkorir have taken to Twitter to troll each other on claims of extortion, blackmail, intimidation and professional misconduct and more.
This banter has moved even further with both parties filing lawsuits at the High Court in Milimani, Nairobi with defamatory claims.
The two lawyers enjoy a large following on social media particularly Twitter with Ahmednassir enjoying 1.9 million followers and Donald Kipkorir having 1.2 million followers.
Initially, Senior Counsel Ahmednasir sued the defendant, Mr. Kipkorir for repulsive tweets that were published on March 5th, 2022, alleging that he is linked to kidnappings of foreigners by a terrorist group and professional misconduct by blackmailing judges of the Judicial Service Commission and betraying clients by switching sides in an ongoing case.
Ahmednasir’s lawsuit was filed through his lawyer Omwanza Ombati. Mr. Ahmednasir believes that Mr. Kipkorir is out on a mission to ruin his reputation in his career and business as an advocate and senior counsel.
According to the lawyer, the tweets were posted at 9:29 pm and 9:32 pm on his Twitter handle, @DonaldBKipkorir.
From Mr. Kipkorir’s end, he claims the tweets were not meant to defame Senior counsel Ahmednassir. He asserted that the latter had also used his Twitter account to abuse, intimidate, defame and threaten him.
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Therefore, the plaintiff would be undeserving of any award of damages sought in the suit.
“The said tweets are factual and the defense of truth and justification will be mounted. The tweets are a correct description of the plaintiff’s personal character, professional profile and pedigree as a lawyer,” says Mr. Kipkorir in response.
Mr. Kipkorir claims that a year ago today on November 2nd 2021, lawyer Ahmednasir published defamatory tweets against him.
He claims that for him to blight Ahmednasir’s professional profile, “The plaintiff had demonstrated a peculiar fecundity to attack, damage and spoilt the reputation of judges of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court, lawyers and members of the public. He tweets with reckless abandon. He has an uncontrolled and acerbic tongue.”
Through his lawyer Peter Wanyama, Donald Kiporir claims that the plaintiff had in January and November 2021 circulated defamatory tweets directed at judges. He adds that Mr. Abdullahi is a broker between a terrorist group and families of kidnaped foreigners.
He also says that Mr. Abdullahi uses his magazines, the Nairobi Law Monthly and the Nairobi Business Monthly to intimidate, blackmail and extort money from chief executives to state corporations.
Prior to moving to court, Mr. Abdullahi says he issued Mr. Kipkorir with demand and notice to sue.
But Mr. Kipkorir, the senior counsel adds, retained “the offending publications on his Twitter page”.
“The defendant published and circulated the offending tweets on his personal Twitter account knowing the same to be false and with the sole object of discrediting, embarrassing and lowering the plaintiff’s dignity in his capacity as a respected member of society and advocate of the High Court of Kenya,” says Ahmednasir’s lawyer, Ombati.
Ahmednasir and his lawyer claim that the words used in the tweets cast Mr.Abdullahi as complicit in corrupt and immoral activities.
“The plaintiff (Mr. Abdullahi) has no involvement whatsoever in crime, piracy or any criminal activity; nor has he ever been investigated for, charged or convicted of any offense in that regard,” says Mr. Ombati.
Lawyer Ahmednasir now seeks defamation damages from Mr. Kipkorir with the court case pending hearing at the High Court in Milimani.
He also wants Mr. Kipkorir to take down the offending tweets and be permanently barred from publishing tweets of a defamatory nature against him.