Nelson Havi Loses Bid to Halt Defamation Suit Filed by Danstan Omari
In its ruling, the court rejected Havi’s request to strike out the case, citing procedural shortcomings and finding that the application before it was incompetent
By : Mweru Mbugua
The High Court in Nairobi has dismissed an application by lawyer Nelson Havi seeking to terminate a defamation suit filed against him by fellow advocate Danstan Omari
In its ruling, the court rejected Havi’s request to strike out the case, citing procedural shortcomings and finding that the application before it was incompetent
Havi had asked the court to strike out a memorandum of appearance filed by Osundwa & Co. Advocates on his behalf, set aside proceedings conducted between January and June 2025, invalidate Omari’s request for interlocutory judgment, and declare the suit as having abated due to failure to issue and serve summons within the prescribed period. In the alternative, he sought to have the matter transferred to the Chief Magistrate’s Court at Milimani
He argued that the failure to extract and serve summons as required under the Civil Procedure Rules rendered the suit defective. Havi further claimed that he had never instructed Osundwa & Co. Advocates to represent him in the matter
Omari opposed the application, maintaining that the firm had properly acted for Havi. He pointed out that the advocates filed pleadings, attended court mentions, and engaged in discussions aimed at resolving an interlocutory application—actions he said demonstrated active participation in the proceedings
Before addressing whether the suit had abated due to lack of summons, the court first examined whether Havi’s application was properly before it. The judge found that Osundwa & Co. Advocates were on record for Havi at all material times and that no proper Notice of Change of Advocates had been filed to allow Havi & Co. Advocates to come on record, as required under Order 9 of the Civil Procedure Rules
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The court further held that Havi had failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove that he had not instructed the firm that entered appearance on his behalf
In the absence of compliance with the procedural requirements governing change of advocates, the court declined to consider the substantive arguments on service of summons
Consequently, the High Court dismissed Havi’s application with costs awarded to Omari, clearing the way for the defamation suit to proceed
