A Member of Parliament has launched a multi-pronged legal assault against three bloggers, suing each for KSh 20 million over social media posts he claims falsely painted him as the murderer of a local school principal. Hon. Nabii Daraja Nabwera, the legislator for Lugari Constituency, filed nearly identical defamation suits at the Milimani Commercial Magistrates Court in Nairobi against Peter Amunga, George Opunga Tamata, and Simon Asievela.
The court documents, seen by this publication, reveal a bitter dispute rooted in the tragic death of Munyuki High School principal Simon Isiaho Shange, who was involved in a road accident in early October 2025 before his body was later recovered from River Kipkaren.
The lawsuits, certified as extremely urgent by the MP’s lawyer, Danstan Omari, allege that from 3 October 2025, the three defendants used Facebook pages including “Kakamega Post,” “Malava Online,” and “Lugari Watchdog” to disseminate “false, malicious, unqualified, inaccurate and injurious statements.”
The publications in question carried headlines such as “vanished after Defying an MP” and “MP Nabwera Daraja Nabii come clean on the death of this teacher.” The MP contends these and other posts were designed to “insinuate and wrongly implicate him in the alluded to accident, disappearance and alleged death” of the principal.
In his sworn affidavit, Hon. Nabwera stated, “The Defendant/Respondent is hellbent on completely tarnishing and painting my name as that of a scandalous, heartless, violent, and brutal politician… whose main aim is to settle political scores.”
Beyond the damage to his reputation, the legislator claims the online rhetoric has incited real-world threats to his safety. He annexed screenshots showing rallying calls from other social media users to “occupy and plunder” his family home in Lugari, Kakamega County.
He expressed apprehension that without court intervention, he would “continue suffering unmerited prejudice and besmirch to his stellar name.” The MP’s legal team is seeking immediate interim orders to compel the bloggers to pull down the offending posts and bar them from further publications pending the hearing of the suit.
The defendants, however, are not without their own voices in the matter. One of the cited articles by Peter Amunga directly challenged the MP’s approach, writing, “HON. NABII NABWERA — A TEACHER DIED ON YOUR WATCH. SUING BLOGGERS WON’T BRING HIM BACK.” The blog post continued, “When tragedy strikes your constituency, you don’t run to lawyers, you run to your people. You stand with them, demand justice, and face whatever questions come your way. Leadership isn’t about hiding behind legal walls; it’s about accountability.”
The public reaction to the allegations, as reflected in the comment sections annexed to the court filings, appears deeply divided. While some commentators levelled direct accusations, such as one user who posted, “Nabwera Daraja Nabii why did u kill the principal,” others voiced support for the MP and his pursuit of legal redress.
In a significant development, one of the defendants, George Opunga, appears to have already backtracked. A screenshot filed in the case shows a post from him titled “MY CORRECT STATEMENT,” in which he asserts, “at no time did I mention the name of a member of parliament and in particular Nabii Daraja Nabwera in any of my statements.” He added that if his words were “misconstrued to mean him, then that was very regrettable.” This retraction may play a critical role in the proceedings against him.
The lawsuits frame the bloggers’ conduct as not merely defamatory under common law but also a criminal offence under Section 23 of Kenya’s Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act. This statute prohibits the knowing publication of false information that is likely to discredit a person’s reputation, carrying penalties of up to a KSh 5 million fine or ten years imprisonment.
As the court prepares to hear the applications, the people of Lugari are left awaiting outcomes on two fraught fronts: the official inquest into the principal’s tragic demise and a legal battle that will test the boundaries of free speech and political accountability in the digital age. The next step lies with the magistrates at Milimani, who must decide whether to grant the MP’s urgent requests for financial compensation, published apologies, and a judicial gag on the three bloggers.
