The High Court of Nairobi has thrown out a defamation suit that had been filed against Nyali Member of Parliament Mohamed Ali by a corporate entity.
Ali had been accused of making defamatory statements against the company at a rally in Nyeri and consequently on social media.
The blue chip company had argued that the statements affected its business as the comments were meant to make its consumers shun its products.
In his ruling, Justice Hedwig Ongudi dismissed the suit stating that the matter had been filed in the wrong court.
The judge of the Constitutional Court stated that the matter should have been filed before another division.
This was in line with the arguments by the parliamentarian's legal team that had urged the court to quash the petition given that the matter was filed by a corporate body.
"The company is not lawfully capable of petitioning the High Court for violation of own fundamental rights and freedoms under Articles 22 and 23 of the Constitution as purported," Ali through his lawyer, Adrian Kamotho argued.
The vocal lawmaker was sued in July following remarks made at a political rally in Nyeri County prior to the August 9 polls.
At the rally, the legislator claimed that the company was making money at the expense of farmers and its consumers.
“Ali’s statements were meant to and did cause public resentment against the petitioner, its business practice, and the products which the petitioner manufactures and sells as part of its business.
"The statement was meant to and did cause economic and commercial harm to the petitioner and its business,” the company told the court.
It is yet to be known whether the company will pursue the matter before another court.