Nyamira Heights Ltd, a new state-of-the-art hotel in the Kisii region, has sued local blogger Kelvin Mogaka for allegedly posting defamatory statements on WhatsApp, claiming that the hotel was built using funds from the West Mugirango Constituency Development Fund (CDF).
According to Nyamira Heights, on August 26, 2024, they were alerted about a post on the WhatsApp group “Nyamira News & Updates,” made by blogger Kelvin Mogaka. In the post, Mogaka claimed, “The first CDF project to be built and completed in West Mugirango. It is a private hotel. The rest of the projects ni renovations.”
The hotel expressed shock over the allegations, calling them “purely false and extremely defamatory.” The hotel insists that its property, Nyamira Heights, was built as an investment by the company through hard-earned resources. “I know for a fact that the allegations are false given that the Plaintiff’s property, Nyamira Heights, is an investment made by the company from the pooling of resources earned through hard work and sweat,” reads the court papers.
In court documents, Nyamira Heights argues that the statements are scandalous and harmful, especially for a new business in the hospitality industry. The hotel emphasized that as a new company, its success relies heavily on advertising and word-of-mouth referrals.
Through their lawyer, Stanley Kinyanjui, the hotel stated, “It is extremely saddening that hard work is being equated to corruption, and the prevailing sentiment in Nyamira County is that their property was funded by corrupt money meant to benefit the people of West Mugirango from the Community Development Fund.”
The court papers also highlight that the post circulated within a WhatsApp group with over 600 active users. Despite warnings from other users that his statements were untrue, Mogaka allegedly dismissed them and continued to assert that Nyamira Heights is public property under investigation. Kinyanjui described the publication as “reckless, malicious, vexatious, scandalous, and injurious to the name and public perception of Nyamira Heights.”
“It is not far-fetched that such a publication is bound to remain in the minds of Nyamira residents, given that the post by the Defendant was purely meant to incite the public against the Plaintiff and its property during the vigilance uprising the country is facing,” the documents state.
Nyamira Heights Hotel
Nyamira Heights further contended that its reputation, built through significant investment, is being tarnished without any justifiable reason. “The Plaintiff’s hard-earned establishment that has cost it millions of shillings in building both the infrastructure and the brand has been ruined, given that it is the public perception of over 600 people that Nyamira Heights is a product of corruption,” the court papers read.
The hotel also pointed out that Mogaka’s statements were particularly reckless given the current social media climate in Kenya, where there is a heightened campaign to expose corruption scandals at the devolved government level. They argued that the publication exposes the hotel to public condemnation, scrutiny, and ridicule.
Nyamira Heights has asked the court to find that Mogaka defamed the hotel with his post and to issue an order restraining him from making any further defamatory statements about the hotel.
The hotel further says that the defamatory statements by Mogaka was reckless especially at a time when Kenya is undergoing a social media campaign to expose corruption scandals at devolution level, the publication was extremely reckless as it exposes the Plaintiff’s property to public condemnation, scrutiny and ridicule.
They have asked the court to find that Mogaka defamed the hotel in his post and further restrict him from further posting any defamatory statements about the hotel.
