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Court orders Gachagua to respond to suit over Haji remarks by Monday

A combination picture of NIS Director General Noordin Haji and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. (Photo: EV)

By Joseph Ndunda | Monday, July 1, 2024

Gachagua has been sued for violating the National Cohesion and Integration and the Leadership and Integrity Acts by making utterances undermining and demeaning Haji and the NIS.

The High Court has directed Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua to respond to a suit over his "incitory and untruthful" remarks against Noordin Haji, the director general of the National Intelligence Service (NIS).

Gachagua has been sued for violating the National Cohesion and Integration and the Leadership and Integrity Acts by making utterances undermining and demeaning Haji and the NIS.

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Justice John Chigiti ordered the DP and the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), who have been sued by activist Frederick Bikeri, to file their responses three days after being served with the suit. Bikeri was given three days, from Monday, to serve the parties.

Haji, who is listed as an interested party in the suit, is also required to serve his responses within the same period.

"The respondents (Gachagua and NCIC) and the interested parties (Haji) shall file and serve their responses to the application within three days of service," Justice Chigiti stated.

The judge wants the exchange of the application and other material in the petition to be completed by July 15 when the matter will be mentioned.

Biker filed the application on June 28 compelling the High Court to order the NCIC to sermon and investigate Gachagua for incitement to violence, among other offences. Justice Chigiti certified the petition as urgent.

Bikeri wants the court to declare that Gachagua's utterances, made on June 26, 2024, in Mombasa, were against the Public Officer under Articles 73 and 75 of the Constitution.

Gachagua accused Haji of ineptitude in his role as the head of intelligence by failing to advise President William Ruto that the majority of Kenyans were opposed to the Finance Bill, 2024.

He also described Haji as a former junior officer at the NIS in his criticism.

Before he was appointed the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Haji served at the NIS as the deputy director in charge of the Counter Organized Crime Unit and the head of administration.

He also headed the Internal Division and was a Principal Intelligence Officer in the external division of the NIS in his steady rise to become the president's top security adviser on national security matters.

Bikeri, who has sued the DP through lawyer Danstan Omari, accuses him of launching hateful attacks against Haji and wants the court to direct the NCIC to summon and investigate the DP for offences under the NCIC Act of 2008.

He wants the court to restrain Gachagua from issuing any other remarks about Haji in his capacity as the NIS boss or his previous role as DPP.

Among the offences the activist wants the NCIC to investigate include remarks that he says have the potential of creating discord, incitement to violence, and advocacy of hatred against other public officers.

He also wants Gachagua investigated for the remarks he issued against Haji, where his DPP role was concerned and find that his utterances were illegal and contravened the dictates of the rule of law.

Justice Chigiti did not gag Gachagua and said the case would be mentioned on July 15.