A legal dispute between prominent Kenyan entertainer DJ Kalonje and popular YouTuber Oga Obinna has intensified, with Obinna now seeking the court’s leave to formally defend himself against a Kshs 20 million defamation suit after claiming he was never properly notified of the case.
The application, filed at the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Nairobi in March 2025, sets the stage for a contentious battle over online speech, reputational harm, and the technicalities that occurred during the serving of legal documents.
The suit, Milimani Commercial Courts Civil Case No. E4789 of 2024, was initiated by the plaintiffs, DJ Kalonje and his company, The Mixxmasters Entertainment Limited, against Obinna, the host of the “Obinna TV Extra” YouTube channel. The plaintiffs are represented by the law firm Turunga Ithagi & Associates. They allege that during a live-streamed show on 19 August 2024, which featured the comedy group “Three Men Army,” Obinna falsely stated that DJ Kalonje could not play live music mixes. They contend this assertion, viewed by over 1.1 million people globally, was knowingly false and has severely damaged the DJ’s professional reputation, amounting to both slander and libel.
Obinna’s recent application to the court, filed through his legal representatives Ms. Walekhwa & Associates Advocates, argues that he was unable to respond to the suit initially because he was never legally served. In a sworn affidavit, he states that court summons were sent via email to an old work address from his former employer, Nation Media Group, which he left four years prior, and to a Gmail account he does not possess. “I do not have an email account by the name ogaobinna@gmail.com as alleged in the Further Affidavit of Service,” Obinna attested. He claims he only learned of the lawsuit when his current lawyers were served in early March 2025, after which he immediately instructed them to enter an appearance.
Central to Obinna’s intended defence is a claim of mistaken identity. In a draft Statement of Defence annexed to his application, he categorically denies referring to DJ Kalonje. “The Defendant was referring to a ‘DJ Kalonji’ (with an ‘i’) who is a different person from the Plaintiff’s director ‘DJ Kalonje’ (with an ‘e’),” the document reads.
It includes a transcript from the show where the name “Kalonji” is repeatedly used, arguing the comment was an anecdote about a specific event at Zetech University involving a different individual. Obinna’s defence further frames the show as an entertainment programme built on “unfiltered humour” and “candid conversations,” suggesting viewers would not interpret the passing comment as a serious factual assertion.
The plaintiffs, DJ Kalonje and The Mixxmasters Entertainment Limited, through their advocates Turunga Ithagi & Associates, have taken a firm stance. In a “without prejudice” settlement demand letter dated 11 August 2025, they quantified their claim at Kshs 20,000,000, the highest amount awardable in a magistrate’s court. They cited the video’s massive reach and the high-profile nature of both parties, referencing a multi-million dollar American defamation settlement for context.
The letter accused Obinna of acting maliciously. “Your client therefore has wrongly lied and/or ignored our client’s skills in their broadcast which is utterly malicious,” it stated, adding that DJ Kalonje had suffered “immense psychological turmoil” from the incident and subsequent online comments.
The court’s imminent decision on whether to grant Obinna leave to file his defence out of time is the next procedural hurdle. Should permission be granted, the case will proceed to a full hearing on the substantive defamation claims, where the accuracy of the transcript, the intent behind the statement, and the actual impact on DJ Kalonje’s reputation will be scrutinized.
