The Milimani Commercial Magistrate’s Court has awarded former Turkana Governor and current Deputy Chief of Staff in the Executive Office of the President, Josphat Koli Nanok, KSh2 million in general damages after finding that Nation Media Group defamed him through a newspaper article published in the Daily Nation.
Chief Magistrate Thomas Nzyoki held that the article published on August 4, 2020, falsely portrayed Nanok as supporting the controversial Third Generation Revenue Allocation Formula by attributing to him the statement: “I support this formula because it will foster development since we will be given more money.”
Nanok told the court that he had in fact opposed the proposed revenue-sharing formula because it would have reduced Turkana County’s allocation by about KSh324 million. He argued that the publication falsely depicted him as greedy, deceitful and ignorant of the revenue formula, thereby damaging his reputation while serving as Governor of Turkana County.
Nation Media Group admitted publishing the article but denied it was defamatory, arguing that it was fair comment on a matter of public interest and protected by qualified privilege. The media house also relied on a clarification and apology published two days later, acknowledging that Nanok had been wrongly identified as supporting the formula and apologising for the mix-up.
In his judgment, Chief Magistrate Nzyoki found that the apology amounted to an admission that the publication was false. He ruled that the newspaper had failed to verify Nanok’s position before publication and that the failure to seek his comments justified an inference of malice.
The court further held that an ordinary reader would understand the article to mean that Nanok supported the revenue-sharing formula for personal gain, was deceitful about his position and lacked understanding of the formula. Those meanings, the court said, were defamatory and lowered his reputation in the eyes of right-thinking members of society.
While Nanok had sought KSh10 million in general damages and another KSh10 million in exemplary damages, the court found those amounts excessive. Taking into account his public standing, the nationwide circulation of the publication and the fact that Nation Media Group published an apology shortly after the story, the court awarded him KSh2 million in general damages but declined to grant exemplary damages.
The magistrate also rejected Nanok’s request for a permanent injunction restraining future defamatory publications, holding that any future defamatory publication would constitute a separate cause of action. The court further found that the apology already published was sufficient, making a fresh order for an apology unnecessary.
Judgment was entered in favour of Nanok for KSh2 million in general damages together with interest from the date of judgment, costs of the suit and a 30-day stay of execution.
