Catherine Cherono Tomno, the woman whose name appeared on a viral National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) traffic fine payment receipt, has threatened to sue senior counsel Donald Kipkorir for defamation.
She accused the lawyer of falsely portraying her as the owner of an illegal government bank account.
In a demand letter dated Tuesday, July 1, lawyers representing Cherono accused Kipkorir of publishing misleading claims on his verified X account on June 30, where he questioned why an NTSA fine had allegedly been paid into an account bearing her name.
The advocates argued that the post, which attracted widespread attention online, wrongly suggested Tomno was involved in fraud, corruption and the unlawful collection of government revenue. “Those meanings are completely false,” the letter states.
Is Catherine Cherono Tomno a KCB bank agent?
According to the advocates, Tomno is a licensed KCB Bank agent operating at the bank’s Freedom Heights branch along Lang’ata Road.
They explained that the motorist first withdrew cash through her authorised agency account before she processed the NTSA fine through the bank’s official payment system, with the appearance of her name reflecting standard banking procedures rather than the recipient of the funds. The lawyers further faulted Kipkorir for allegedly failing to verify the facts with KCB, NTSA or their client before publishing the claims, saying the viral post severely damaged her reputation, disrupted her business and caused emotional distress.
The letter also says KCB summoned Tomno for questioning following the online uproar, while family members, customers and business associates contacted her after she was portrayed as a fraudster.
Her advocates have given Kipkorir three hours to remove the post, publish an approved public apology and retraction, acknowledge that she acted only as an authorised KCB agent, undertake not to repeat the allegations and compensate her for the reputational damage.
Failing that, they say they have instructions to file a defamation suit seeking general, aggravated and exemplary damages, court orders compelling removal of the publication and apology, as well as costs.
“Our instructions are to institute legal proceedings against you without any further reference whatsoever,” the advocates warned.
The legal threat comes days after NTSA clarified that payments made through authorised banking channels are remitted to the authority’s official account even if the name of a registered bank agent appears on an intermediary transaction record. The authority also said it had launched investigations into the matter after the receipt sparked widespread public debate.