Sports and Youth Affairs Cabinet Secretary, Ababu Namwamba, has said he had donated the millions the Court awarded him after winning a defamation case.
In a statement on December 23, 2023, Namwamba noted he donated Ksh9 million to charity to help vulnerable children.
The CS received the award in a defamation lawsuit against the Standard Media Group – a leading media giant in the country.
“The High Court of Kenya in Nairobi has awarded me Kshs 9 million as damages against the Standard Media Group, in Civil Suit No. 263 of 2018 following defamatory stories published by the Nairobian Newspaper in 2018,” he noted.
While acknowledging the “utter horror endured” during the five-year legal battle, Ababu Namwamba stated that the awarded damages provided a “tiny measure of relief”.
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Nonetheless, he emphasized his faith in ultimate justice, quoting Martin Luther King’s words: “We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
At the same time, rather than seeking personal gain, Namwamba chose to direct the funds towards supporting vulnerable students and youth initiatives.
He announced that the Kshs 9 million will be donated to the Ababu Namwamba Foundation (ANF) on its 20th anniversary to establish a revolving endowment fund dedicated to educational fees and youth empowerment programs.
“Today, on my birthday, I donate the entirety of the Kshs 9 million to charity. As Ababu Namwamba Foundation (ANF) marks its 20th Anniversary, its Board of Trustees will receive the money to establish a revolving endowment fund to support fees for vulnerable students and to empower transformative youth initiatives,” he stated.
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Notably, the ANF has a history of supporting various initiatives empowering young Kenyans, making the donation a fitting act of philanthropy on his birthday.
Additionally, he emphasized the importance of ethical journalism and accountability in his statement, urging media outlets to prioritize responsible reporting anchored on facts.
“May the Kshs 9 million awarded to me as damages serve as yet another stark lesson to journalists and the media to maintain fidelity to the straight and narrow of responsible reporting anchored on fact and not actuated by malice or recklessness,” he added.
Ababu Namwamba is a seasoned lawyer and politician. He served as Chief Administrative Secretary – CAS in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during President Uhuru Kenyatta’s reign.
Previously, he was a strong ally of the Opposition Chief Raila Odinga before they fell out.
Namwamba also served as Orange Democratic Movement – ODM Secretary General and represented Budalang’i constituency in the National Assembly.