Businessman seeks to revive detention suit against Moi

A businessman who sued former President Daniel arap Moi claiming Sh3 billion in compensation for his alleged detention and loss of business over the 1982 coup attempt wants to revive the suit in the Supreme Court.

Stephen Muriithi has filed an application seeking to stop Mr Moi from demanding legal fees from him over the case until the Supreme Court has determined the dispute.

He says the former president has already slapped him with a bill of legal costs, but does not disclose the amount demanded from him.

He claims in his suit that Mr Moi, while in power, detained him for allegedly taking part in the 1982 attempted coup but used the detention as a cover to steal his shares in companies they owned together.

Mr Muriithi also served as Mr Moi’s intelligence chief prior to the detention.

Mr Muriithi won the suit at the High Court in 2011 and was set to receive Sh3 billion in damages, but Mr Moi successfully moved to the Court of Appeal to reverse the ruling. Mr Mureithi filed a notice of appeal, seeking to refer the matter to the Supreme Court.

“I lodged a notice of appeal in the Supreme Court on May 12. The respondent (Mr Moi) has filed a bill of costs being the party and party costs. If the taxation of the bill of costs proceeds, Mr Moi will proceed to execute the decree,” Mr Mwangi says.

Mr Moi’s advocates claim the case has stalled because of Mr Muriithi’s failure to comply with the directions of the Supreme Court regarding filing of court documents.

“On November 2 the court file miraculously disappeared and the matter was curiously missing from the daily cause list. The appeal that Mr Muriithi has alluded to has failed to take off on two occasions because the applicant failed to comply with the court’s directions,” says Ochieng Oduol, Mr Moi’s lawyer.

Justice Louis Onguto will Wednesday deliver a ruling on whether to stop Mr Moi from claiming legal costs.

This article was first published in the Business Daily.