Waiguru drops bid to sue King Kaka

By , K24 Digital
On Fri, 20 Dec, 2019 15:26 | 3 mins read
Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru now says she won’t sue musician King Kaka for defamation. [PHOTO | FILE]
Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru now says she won’t sue musician King Kaka for defamation. [PHOTO | FILE]
Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru now says she won’t sue musician King Kaka for defamation. [PHOTO | FILE]

Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru now says she won’t sue musician King Kaka for defamation.

Taking to her official Facebook page on Friday, December 20, Waiguru said she has come to learn that King Kaka was “attention-hungry”, and that her political rivals sponsored King Kaka’s lyrics in the composition of Wajinga Nyinyi, in which he allegedly defamed her.

“Having watched the antics of King Kaka in the last couple of days; with reports of fake assassination attempts and DCI summons, I recognise that he’s a confused attention-seeking young man. I have therefore made the decision not to proceed with the King Kaka suit,” said Waiguru on Facebook Friday afternoon.


“It is unfortunate when talented youth are taken advantage of by some politicians and used to settle political scores. As I have chosen in previous occasions of this nature, I will contend with their masters,” said Waiguru.

Waiguru’s remarks come just three days after she said she agreed with many Twitter users that corruption needs to be fought vehemently, even as a section of the social media users believed that the county chief’s commitment towards anti-graft fight was questionable.

A section of Twitter users on Tuesday took issue with Waiguru’s move to seek legal redress against rapper King Kaka, whom she accused of defaming her in his hard-hitting composition Wajinga Nyinyi.

Waiguru claimed her move is not aimed at gagging the musician against speaking about social vices, but is motivated by the desire to protect her reputation against injurious allegations. 

“To set the record straight, I totally agree with most of the sentiments expressed by Kenyans on social media on the ills bedeviling the country, and believe it’s imperative that the pertinent issues raised be addressed forthwith,” Waiguru said in a statement posted on her Facebook page on Tuesday.

“It’s an inescapable fact that corruption has stifled development and adversely crippled our economy; and that is why we should all support the ongoing efforts to fight this scourge,” she added, adding: “Public funds must be used prudently to benefit the people and not line the pockets of a few individuals.”

The governor further said even as Kenyans call out leaders suspected to have engaged in corruption, they should know that “people have a right to a good name until proven otherwise by a court of law”.

“As we engage in the broader discourse on how to rid our nation of corruption, however, let us do so within the confines of the law and base our arguments on facts and empirical evidence and not hearsay, propaganda and innuendo which only assists in hiding the true purveyors of this deadly scourge,” she said.

“This must not be another game of chicken, or a ploy to mudsling targeted individuals, or a public gambit meant to settle political scores or make profits by reckless slander. Neither should it be used by those corrupt to decoy or cover their guilt by tarnishing others. This must be an honest, heart-to-heart discussion meant to end corruption once and for all and place Kenya on the straight and narrow!”

The county chief referenced the 2015 Ksh791 million NYS graft scandal, in which she was linked to, but claims she was cleared by authorities after it “became clear that she wasn’t involved in it”.

“On my part, I have used the lessons learnt in my season as CS Devolution and Planning, where some took advantage of weak systems to misuse public funds to guide my management of Kirinyaga County. No wonder we were ranked 3rd best county by Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) with regard to best practice in procurement & compliance with the law,” said Waiguru.

Her statement came barely two days after she asked rapper King Kaka to pull down his Wajinga Nyinyi composition over claims that the artiste defamed her.

Waiguru, in a December 15 letter from Kiragu Wathuta & Company Advocates, gave the artiste 48 hours to issue a full, unconditional admission of liability in writing.

“… that you offer unequivocal unqualified and unreserved retraction as well as an apology to our client subject to review and approval,” said Waiguru in the letter, in which she threatened to sue the rapper on Wednesday, December 18, should he not obey his demands.

The governor said the remarks about her in King Kaka’s poetic work were defamatory and depicted her as extremely corrupt.

Waiguru further said the track’s lyrics suggested she was not fit to lead Kirinyaga County as its governor, and that the electorate were unwise to choose her at the helm of county leadership.

“You ought to have known that despite extensive investigations and several prosecutions in relation to the loss of funds at NYS, our client has never been charged in a court of law as an accused person in relation to NYS or any other scandal …,” said Waiguru’s lawyers.

“… she has been persistently and publicly demanding full investigations of the matters relating to the NYS affairs and there has been no evidence whatsoever of her culpability [provided] to, or obtained by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission on any allegations pertaining to the NYS affairs.”

Waiguru, as a result, accused the musician of damaging her reputation beyond repair.

On Tuesday, December 17, King Kaka alleged that he had been summoned by the DCI to record a statement over his controversial poetry.The DCI, however, denied King Kaka’s statement, dismissing him as an attention-seeker.

Related Topics