Retired President Moi spared court in Zipporah Seroney suit

Retired President Moi does not have to appear in court for a petition filed by a widow who accuses him of illegally detaining her husband.

Ms Zipporah Seroney and her five sons and daughters have sued the former president over the death of Mr Jean Marie Seroney 31 years ago.

But Mr Justice Isaac Lenaola ruled that the court has no powers to order Mr Moi to personally appear in court to testify.

“There is no obligation in law that any person sued in a constitutional petition must present himself in court to give oral evidence. Mr Moi is not an accused in a criminal case and he can choose to respond through his lawyers,” ruled the judge.

Last month he directed that the hearing would continue through oral evidence and ordered the parties to be in court to testify.

However, the hearing failed to take place yesterday after Ms Seroney refused to testify in the absence of Mr Moi, maintaining that she had questions which she wanted the former president to answer while facing her.

“My wish was to see Mr Moi sitting opposite me in the dock while giving my evidence. I wanted to see him eye to eye as he answers the questions over the death of my husband,” she said.

Her lawyer Gitobu Imanyara explained that she felt the presence of Mr Moi was important since she wanted the former president to see what she had gone through since the death of her husband.

“She understood the last order to mean that Mr Moi would be present as she gives her evidence. The absence of the former president has drained her emotionally and she will not be able to proceed with her evidence,” said Mr Imanyara.

Mr Moi’s lawyer Ochieng Oduol described Ms Seroney’s request as strange only designed to embarrass the former Head of State.

“Her attempt to drag him to court is an abuse of court process and we ask that the case be dismissed,” said Mr Oduol.

WRONGFULLY SUED

He added that he would file an application within a week to strike out Mr Moi’s name from the petition, arguing that the leader was wrongfully sued since he was not the president when Mr Seroney was detained between 1975 and 1978.

Ms Seroney claimed in her petition that if it were not for the actions of Mr Moi, her husband who served as an MP from 1961 to 1975, would not have died in December 1982.

She swore that her husband was detained at the behest of Mr Moi who allegedly continued to persecute him after he assumed the presidency.

According to the widow, they were thrown out of the family home and when she attempted to return in 1991, she was violently thrown out, losing their property.

The hearing was adjourned to April 30.