The High Court has directed media house, Standard Group Plc to sell some of its assets through Moran Auctioneers to repay Former Taita Taveta Mp, Basil Criticos Ksh4.1 million over defamation allegations.
The orders were listed in part of the Warrant of Attachment of Movable property issued on November 6th, 2023.
Basil Criticos attached six vehicles and other properties, including office chairs and wooden cabinets for auction in an effort to raise the hefty amount.
“These are to command you to attach the movable property of the said Judgment/Debtor as set out in the schedule hereunto annexed or which shall be pointed out to you by the said D/holder and unless the said judgment debtor shall pay to you the said some of Ksh4 178 218 together with costs of this attachment, to hold the same until further orders from court.” the warrant reads in part.
Defamation Allegations Against Standard Group
In 2011, Basil Criticos sued the Standard media Group over a story on the sale of his parental home.
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According to court documents, the publication cited that the former MP was accused by his niece.
However, the former lawmaker told the court that no order was issued against him as he was not specifically mentioned in the alleged court order.
Furthermore, Standard Group admitted to publishing the disparaging article and issued an apology to Basil.
Financial Troubles by the Mombasa Based Media House
This case comes at a time when Standard has graced the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
In recent times, the media house has been a topic of discussion among Kenyans from various quarters after it emerged that a staffer had contemplated suicide due to frustrations occasioned by salary delays.
Apart from the salary delays, some journalists also accused the company of failing to remit money to their employees’ Sacco even after deducting the respective amounts from their salaries.
In a press statement on November 9, the Kenya Union of Journalists called out the media company for ignoring the plight of its staff members.
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The Union said that efforts to negotiate with Standard Group’s management had proved futile as the company failed to honor its promises on several occasions.
Therefore, the Union gave the company an ultimatum of 14 days to come up with a payment plan- failure to which it would mobilize workers to picket and demonstrate.
“We are giving the company 14 days to come up with a payment plan with a view of settling the arrears or else we will mobilize media workers in solidarity to picket at the company’s offices countrywide,” the statement read.
Nevertheless, on November 10, reports emerged that the company had paid full salary for the month of October.
