Embu Governor and United Democratic Alliance Party (UDA) Chairman Cecily Mbarire has issued a demand letter to Nation Media Group seeking damages of Ksh200 million for a defamatory publication in its Sunday Nation edition.
According to the governor, the publication titled “Two Governors caught up in Ksh 2B land row, which was published on March 31, both in the newspaper and online, implicated her in the land row when in fact, she had nothing to do with the case.
She stated that her photo was used as the top image of the article together with one of the individuals implicated in the 16-year-old court battle, insinuating that she was also one of the accused persons.
“This was intended to mean and actually meant that our client, whose image is prominently borne on the cover page of the said Sunday Nation edition is actively involved in a vicious battle with Governor Sakaja, over some prime land in Nairobi.
“Manifestly, the publication was understood and indeed meant that our client is a disputant and a litigant in the alluded 16-year-old court battle. Explicitly, the foregoing statements are patently false,” the letter read in part.
According to the UDA chair, she was only involved in the case when one of the accused contacted her seeking assistance in arranging a meeting with a Ministry of Lands official.
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Arguments Raised by the UDA Chairperson
According to the letter, Nation Media Group went against the laws of journalism when it published the article without any regard for the reputation of Mbarire.
“Our client is law abiding, a paragon of integrity and is not party to any land row as falsely ascribed by yourselves. Consequently, nothing merits the splashing of our client’s photo on the front page of your publications, against false and misleading captions,” reads the letter in part.
“In your obsessive struggle to drag our client into your headlines, you traded the cardinal tenets of journalism, for melodramatic and sensational descriptions, without the slightest regard for our client’s reputation. Our client is astonished and deeply pricked by the detestable allegations levelled against her in the impugned publication.”
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Mbarire Issues Demands to Nation Media Group
Consequently, the governor demanded that the media house immediately pays her a sum of Ksh200 million as settlement for the damages and injuries inflicted.
Additionally, she demanded an immediate retraction of the publication including images and statements on all print, online and social media platforms.
At the same time, Mbarire demanded a public apology and a commitment to cease and desist from further defamation.
“Our instructions are to demand, the following, which we hereby do, Immediate issuance of an unequivocal public apology to our client with the same prominence as the offending publications in all print, online, social media or any platform whatsoever, where the false and defamatory statements,
“A commitment from Nation Media Group PLC to permanently cease and desist from further defamation or publication of falsehoods in relation to our client,” the statement explained.
