20091204

Nairobi — Retired President Daniel Moi is to be summoned through the media to appear in a case in which he has been sued by a former detainee.

The court allowed Mr Mwangi Stephen Muriithi to issue suit papers to Mr Moi after he explained that it was difficult to do so due to the former president's heavy security.

In their application, the former director of a special police unit who says he was unlawfully detained during the Moi era, asked the court to allow him to place the summons in the newspapers in the form of an advertisement.

Mr Muriithi is challenging Mr Moi's decision to sell property that he jointly owned with the former president and other partners.

He is also accusing the former president of unlawfully ordering his detention without trial, saying it was unconstitutional and had ulterior commercial advantages.

He says that the parcels of land in Nairobi and Nakuru were registered under investment companies in which both he and Mr Moi were partners.

According to documents filed in court, the parcels were sold during the time Mr Muriithi was in detention in 1982.

The petitioner claims that Mr Moi had denied him access to dealings in the investment and that he was unable to access any information regarding the investments and the transactions.

He has asked the High Court to declare that his detention was illegal and that the former president had him put away with the ulterior motive of achieving a commercial advantage.

Mr Muriithi also wants to be compensated, saying his rights as a Kenyan were violated.

He wants the sale of the property to be considered illegal and unconstitutional.

"The sales were done while the petitioner was in detention and should therefore be declared unlawful," the suit papers say.

Mr Muriithi said he had tried to serve Mr Moi for the past two months to no avail.

Lady Justice Jeanne Gacheche allowed him to place the summons in the media.

The two together with others owned four investment companies, among them Fourways Investment Ltd, Mokamu Ltd, and Sheraton Holdings Ltd, in which the respondent owned 40, 33, and 40 per cent stake respectively. Mr Moi owned 19, 33, and 19 per cent respectively.

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