Dennis Itumbi Defends Standard Journalist Arrested For Making Allegations Against MP Kabando Wa Kabando
Standard Group court Wahome Thuku is likely to spend the cold night behind bars after he was arrested for what is said to be a post he put up on facebook meant to defame Mukurweini MP Kabando wa Kabando.
Wahome is held at Parliament Police station.
The arrest of the journalist has prompted an outcry on social media demanding his immediate release. And as Kenyans demand the release of the scribe, Director of Digital Communication in the Office Of the President, Dennis Itumbi, has jumped to the defense of the journalist.
Through a detailed Facebook post, Itumbi has blamed the laws used to arrest the journalist, calling them archaic and outdated.
He says that Criminal Libel/defamation is a law enforced by authoritarian regimes to silence critics and that it is time such a law was amended because the country has made significant steps.
Itumbi argues that even though he differs with Thuku on several occasions, he is not entitled to such an arrest.
He said:
Without getting into the specifics of the issue on my good friend Wahome Thuku ( With whom we differ on many issues)
I will say something I have argued on this space before ….As a Nation we must do away with Criminal Libel/Defamation.
The law is outdated and should not be part of our law books. At least since the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution.
The law was intended for use by authoritarian/colonial regimes to shield errant public officials from criticism by citizens. This colonial relic has no place in our statute books today!!
A lawyer friend actually agrees with me saying, “I actually doubt that any court would convict a person for criminal libel; this law flies in the face of free and unfettered speech under ths 2010 Constitution.
Secondly, a persom who suffers injury due to defamation is entitled to sue under civil law for compensation for damages.
Charging a person for libel under criminal law and allowing the injured person to sue for damages at the same time is ocassioning double jeopardy to the accused/sued person. This charge is unlikely to be sustained by any court now.”
But maybe this case needs to go on, Perhaps @Wahome Thuku andLempaaSoyinka will use the chance to go to Constitutional court and have the law declared unconstitutional.
Some moments though unfortunate present opportunity.
On this matter of Criminal Libel my stand is very clear it has no space in our democracy.
