A Cabinet minister has won a defamation case against a media house and a weekly publication. Judge Hatari Waweru entered a judgment against Radio Africa Limited which runs Kiss FM for airing s libellous remark about Water minister Charity Ngilu six years ago. Mr Justice Waweru also entered judgment against politician Wanguhu Ngarig’a, two Kiss FM employees Caroline Mutoko and Carol Radull who presented the morning radio programme, “The Big Breakfast Show.”
The judge struck out defenses filed by the five defendants and entered an interlocutory judgment against them severally. “The minister will proceed to proof quantum of damages,” lawyer Cecil Miller told the judge. Also to pay Mrs Ngilu for defamation is Headlink Publishers Limited which runs the Weekly Citizen. Entering judgment against Headlink, Mr Ng’anga, Radio Africa Ltd, Ms Mutoko and Ms Radull Mr justice Waweru said “they failed to present defences with triable issues” He added the defendants defamed Mrs Ngilu who has a high public standing as a mother, grandmother and a Cabinet minister.
While allowing the application by lawyer Miller for Mrs Ngilu, the judge said the defences filed by the five were frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of the court process. Mr Miller urged the judge to strike out the defence because they failed to indicate the nature of evidence the defendants intended to rely on. The judge said the weekly on its issue of July 4/10, 2005, falsely, maliciously and spite-fully labelled the minister by alleging she had misbehaved at a parking lot in a members’ club In Nairobi The defences by the defendants are scandalous, frivolous and vexatious aimed to embarrass or delay the fair trial of the case and therefore an abuse of the court process,” Mr Justice Waweru said in his ruling. He said the minister tendered evidence to show she was in London at the time she was alleged to have been at the club, She also tabled evidence of minutes of the committee of the club stating nothing of that sort happened in that club.” The court said Mr Ng’ang’a did not tender evidence of a transcript of his address to the press when he allegedly attacked the minister’s con-duct and reputation.
The minister accused the ‘Weekly Citizen’ of publishing a defamatory article. That KISS FM reproduced the libelous article. Radio presenters Caroline Mutoko and Carol Radull injured her reputation and character by repeating the false allegations in their ‘Big Breakfast Show”, Ngilu accused council chairman of the National Rainbow Coalition Wanguhu Ng’ang’a of injuring her character by alleging she was of loose morals with no respect to the institution of marriage.
