Alikiba's estranged Kenyan wife Amina Khalef wrote Diamond Platnumz a demand letter insisting that he apologises and retracts his statement.
Amina, through her lawyer Shabaab Associates, wrote the demand letter after Diamond alluded to having an affair with her while quarrelling with her estranged husband Alikiba in a bitter online rant.
"Our named client has never had any unprofessional, immoral, unbecoming and/or suspicious interaction with yourself as alleged. That at all times she has kept her distances from all the social media wrangles between yourself and any other artist not limited to her husband.
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"That despite the averments as contained herein above, you have consistently perpetrated a falsehood, insidious and defamatory innuendos against our client in your various social media platforms. That on your Instagram account, you published, caused to be published and widely circulated caption words; Habaru yangu na Amina nazani unayo….. loosely translated to infer that yourself and our client engaged in an immoral and romantic exchange," the demand letter, dated August 10, 2013, reads in part.
Amina claimed she suffered anxiety, tension, hatred, ridicule and untold pain after Diamond claimed they had an affair.
"That you published statements are not only false but also untruthful, malicious, defamatory and resentful in equal measure. That the publications have caused our client anxiety, tension, hatred, ridicule and untold pain and suffering, her friends and relatives inclusive. That your miscalculated words are demeaning, to her and her entire family bea ri ng in mind she is a widely known person both individually and in various social media pages," the letter continues.
Alikiba's estranged wife demanded a written apology and compensation from Diamond.
"OUR INSTRUCTIONS are therefore to DEMAND, which we hereby do for a written apology and an unconditional retraction and/or deletion of the said defamatory post/statement. Subsequently and pursuant to the said retraction and apology, we shall revert into a settlement discussion based on compensation to be borne by you. Alternatively, and, Without Prejudice, if you do not meet our demands within the NEXT SLYEN (7) DAYS from the date hereof, we are at liberty to saddle you with both criminal and civil litigation appurtenant costs and consequences on you."
Diamond reacts
Diamond Platnumz scoffed at Amina's demand letter through his lawyer Rank Attorneys.
In their response to Amina's demand letter, Diamond's lawyers poked holes in her claims saying she levelled serious and unfounded against their client.
"Our Client is in total dismay with the contents of your demand notice which contains serious and unfounded allegations as to its truthfulness. Our Client has never stated anywhere to have unprofessional, immoral, unbecoming and/ or suspicious interactions with your client. It is very unfortunate that your letter does not state in extenso which and when the alleged post mentioned your client goes by the name of AMINA KHALEF," Diamond's lawyers wrote in part.
Diamond lawyers capitalized on the fact that the singer didn't mention Alikiba's wife with her full name, arguing that any person with the name Amina could as well sue the singer.
"That paragraph 3 and 4 of your demand notice accuses Our Client of perpetrating a falsehood, insidious and defamatory innuendos against your client. This was concluded after Our Client posted the words quoted in your demand notice "Habaru yangu na Amina nazani unayo…". However, as we stated in the preceding paragraph that your demand notice is so economical of the facts to the point of failure to reveal when your client was mentioned in her known and full names. If at all the use of the name "Amina" is the problem, has it crossed your mind, how many people by the name of "Amina" can come forward and claim for defamation?" Diamond's lawyers wrote.
"To shed more tight on this, defamation which is the subject of this demand notice centers on "defamatory statements", which is broadly defined to mean, a statement uttered against someone which "injures the reputation of another person by exposing him to hatred, contempt, or ridicule or which tends to lower him in the esteem of right-thinking members of society', this is quoted from Lord Atkin in Sim vs Stretch [19361] 2 all E.R 1237. The law on the subject matter is very clear and for any statement to qualify to be defamatory must make reference to the claimant and his/her reference or identification must be undisputed.
"It is the stance of Our Client that, the name "Amina" does not make reference to your client, and even if it was, your client's allegation or interpretation of the alleged statements are made out of latent or secondary meaning. Nowhere, the alleged post mentioned about having an extra marital affair with your client. Please, notify your client that, when the natural and ordinary meaning is not defamatory but someone wants to bring an action of defamation, they must prove the latent or secondary meaning i.e., Innuendo which makes the statement defamatory. Our Client invites your client to prove the same.
"It is prudent to understand that innuendo typically refers to a condition where a person explains a factual situation, yet an incorrect interpretation is derived from it. However, for such a situation to be considered defamatory, it must be about your client.
"The content of your demand notice stating that Our Client's statement is loosely translated to infer that he was immorally and romantically involved with your client are vehemently disputed for being baseless, concocted lies, and information better known to your client. It is impossible to draw such an inference from a statement that had nothing to do with your client in the first place.
That if your client keenly observes the statement published by Our Client, she will notice that there was no harm to the extent of damaging a reputation and it was not- directed to her in any particular sense. It is possible for your client to have mistaken Our Client's intent considering that both your client and Our Client are media personalities with reputable characters."
In conclusion, Diamond's lawyers said the statement he published on his social media account was not directed to Amina.
"That the final clauses of your demand notice do not demonstrate how your client has indeed suffered and affected by the statement of Our client for one main reason, the published statements by our client were not directed to your client."
