On Saturday, February 25, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, through his legal team Awele Jackson Advocates, issued a cease and desist letter to Daily Nation regarding an article that appeared on the cover of Saturday Nation.
Raila’s team argued in a letter dated Saturday, February 25, that the information published by the newspaper was false, and malicious, and destroyed his reputation.
The front-page article, titled ‘Treasury Paid Billions for Raila’s 2 AU Offices,’ claimed that Ksh2 billion in taxpayer money may have been used to fund Raila’s role as AU’s High Representative of Infrastructure.
As a result, the lawyers demanded that the paper issue an apology for publishing what they considered to be a one-sided story.
“Within 24 hours of the date of the defamatory publication against our client, you will publish an equivocal apology and/or retraction with commensurate prominence in the print and electronic media,” the letter stated in part.
Raila’s lawyers also claimed that the media outlet failed to seek clarification from the former Prime Minister’s team.
“The above allegations are completely false, according to the evidence. Had you made an effort to obtain the African Union’s correct factual position before publishing the article?”
“You would have established that all expenses related to our client’s role were directly borne by the African Union by NEPAD and partly by our client,” the letter said in parts.
However, the media outlet claimed in the article that it contacted Raila’s spokesperson, Dennis Onyango. He (Onyango) denied the allegations, claiming that the role was not funded by taxpayers.
