• Sonko had been asked to apologise through the same social media accounts within 48 hours but has not done so.
• Sakaja said that Sonko has ruined the reputation of one of their clients under ISSA and Company Advocates.
Image: FILE
Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja is preparing to sue Governor Mike Sonko for defamation after the latter failed to respond to a demand letter.
On November 28, Sakaja had given Sonko 48-hours to apologise for damaging his reputation or else he will proceed to the court of law.
On Wednesday, Sakaja confirmed to the Star having sent the demand but had not received any response from Sonko.
"So it’s going to court next week," the Senator said.
Through Issa and Company Advocates, Sakaja said that Sonko had ruined his reputation through social media posts where the Governor was reacting to a statement issued by Nairobi MPs.
Sonko wrote claiming that the MPs had received Sh250,000 from former Nairobi County Assembly Majority Leader Abdi Guyo.
"Our beloved Nairobi MPs received 250,000/= from the landgrabber through the ousted leader of impunity and corruption who is also the matopeni MCA," Sakaja's letter quotes Sonko's post.
Sonko further claimed that Sakaja and Makadara MP George Aladwa shared Sh3 million that they had received in order to issue the statement against him.
The Senator said Sonko on his November 22 post on Instagram published further defamatory claims against him.
He said that the claims by Sonko that he was paid to issue the statement would ordinaily be taken to mean that the Senator is "corrupt, a fraudster and unfit to hold public office."
"Our further instructions are that the publication of the defamatory posts on your Facebook page, Twitter page and Instagram page was actuated by malice, ill will, utter recklessness and calculated to cause and has indeed caused our client to be ridiculed and treated with contempt and disdain," Sakaja's letter reads.
He noted that Sonko has allegedly referred to the MCA as a landgrabber and also linked Sakaja's statement to that of Guyo, saying that they were reading from the same script.
"I can confirm to you that the statement read by Senator Johnston Sakaja was a copy-paste of what Abdi Guyo had alleged at Radio Citizen and KTN to unleash and was not written by Sakaja but was delivered by Guyo to Alladwa," part of the statement by Sonko said.
The letter demanded a retraction and apology from Sonko, an admission of liability after which they would discuss compensation.
A day before Sonko made the alleged defamatory post, elected leaders from Nairobi county asked the governor to put things in order in the city.
They said that Sonko's administration has been linked to mismanagement and corruption.
During the address to the media, Sakaja said they will not sit back and watch as City Hall sinking.