Kimilili MP gives Stephen Mutoro two hours to retract social media posts or face defamation proceedings
Kimilili Member of Parliament Didmus Wekesa Barasa has demanded KSh100 million in damages from Consumer Federation of Kenya (COFEK) Secretary-General Stephen Mutoro over social media publications questioning his academic qualifications.
Through lawyers led by Danstan Omari, Barasa has also demanded that Mutoro withdraw and retract the publications within two hours of receiving a demand letter dated September 21, 2026.
The lawyers accused Mutoro of publishing statements that allegedly portrayed Barasa’s academic qualifications as questionable and damaging to his reputation.
“Our instructions are to demand from you, which we hereby demand, that you immediately pull down and retract all publications on all your social media platforms relating to our client within two hours of receipt of this demand and pay our client a Hundred Million Kenyan Shillings (KSh100,000,000) for damages arising from your reckless defamatory publications,” the letter states.
Lawyer Danstan Omari said failure to comply would result in legal action.
“We shall be filing a defamation case against Stephen for spreading false information that my client is not a qualified engineer,” Omari said, according to reports on the dispute.
JKUAT Disputes Engineering Degree
The demand follows a September 14 letter from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) to COFEK concerning Barasa’s alleged Bachelor of Electrical and Electronic Engineering qualification.
JKUAT Registrar of Academic Affairs Dr Aggrey Wanyama said the university had reviewed its records and found that Barasa was not a student at the institution and that his name did not appear in its alumni records.
The university also said it did not hold a graduation ceremony in May 2008, the date associated with the disputed certificate, and concluded that the certificate bearing Barasa’s name was not genuine. JKUAT said the matter had previously been communicated to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Engineers Board of Kenya (EBK).
Barasa has disputed the claim that he obtained an engineering degree from JKUAT.
Speaking to KTN, he said his undergraduate and master’s degrees were from Mount Kenya University, while his doctorate is from Murang’a University of Technology.
The MP has also questioned Mutoro’s motives in pursuing the issue.
The dispute has subsequently expanded beyond the alleged JKUAT qualification, with COFEK pursuing a High Court petition seeking scrutiny of aspects of Barasa’s academic credentials, including his doctoral qualification.
The KSh100 million demand is a claim made by Barasa through his lawyers; whether any damages are ultimately payable would depend on subsequent legal proceedings and their outcome.
