Jeff Koinange arrested after being charged with contempt, released on Sh100,000 cash

Koinange and political analyst Tony Gachoka, with whom he’s jointly facing a defamatory suit, moved to the High Court Monday seeking to block their arrest.

Chief Magistrate Maisy Chesang’ ordered their arrest on May 14 after their failed to honor summons to appear before her to answer to charges of defamation.

Businessman Jimi Wanjigi filed a complaint against Koinange and Gachoka before the court, accusing them of making defamatory statements against his company by linking it to the Anglo-Leasing scandal on the Jeff Koinange Live show in March.

Allegations they went on to air, Wanjigi argued, despite there already being a case pending before the High Court seeking to stop its broadcast.

But the very fact that the matter had already been brought before another – and a higher court at that – Koinange and Gachoka’s lawyers argued, made their case that the Chief Magistrate’s Court had no business issuing an arrest order against them.

Wanjigi’s legal representatives however insisted that Koinange and Gachoka had contempt of court charges to answer to arguing that the flooding that resulted from heavy rains in Nairobi on May 13 were not reason enough to skip court proceedings the following day.

Koinange and Gachoka’s legal representatives had presented this, before Justice Weldon Korir, as the reason they were unable to represent their clients in court on May 14.

They however insisted that they had requested learned friends to hold brief for them and apply for an adjournment which they failed to do.