The Court of Appeal has quashed a Sh8 million award to businessman Jimi Wanjigi and his wife Irene Nzisa for an erroneous obituary carried by the Nation in 2018.
The court ruled that Nation Media Group (NMG) made reasonable efforts to help authorities apprehend the individual who placed and paid for the content.
The Appellate Court decision has created clear boundaries on the extent of responsibility that media houses and public platforms in instances where they carry false or misleading content crafted by third parties.
In their decision, the judges underscored that media houses must have in-house processes that can help trace third party content creators to help identify and trace them in the event that information they provide turns out to be false.
Aside from finding that the February 7, 2018 erroneous death announcement was authored and paid for by a third party identified as Jared, the judges added that the following day, the media house reported the incident to police, published an apology to Mr Wanjigi and his family, and published and aired stories on its platforms explaining the circumstances under which the false death announcement was published.
Those stories included CCTV footage of the individual who provided the content and paid the publishing fees, for assistance from the public in tracing him. The Nation continued to publish and air updates on the matter as police investigations proceeded.
The Nation Centre building on Kimathi Street.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
The name and image used in the false announcement had been altered, a move that hindered its detection as it went through the relevant department’s usual processes.
The Court of Appeal held that NMG did not stand to benefit financially or otherwise from the publication, outside the fees charged for publishing of obituaries.
“We have considered the material placed before us and are satisfied that the erroneous obituary concerning the first respondent (Jimi Wanjigi) was placed by a third party, one Jared, and that the appellants (Nation Media Group) took reasonable steps to have the culprit apprehended through lawful means. Apart from the fees charged for placing the said advertisement, there is no evidence that the appellants stood to benefit, financially or otherwise, from the said advertisement,” the judges ruled.
“From the manner in which the advertisement was made, it was not immediately discernible that it referred to the first respondent since it did not refer to the respondent's known name, Jimi Wanjigi, but camouflaged it as James Richard Wanjagi. These are totally different names. Similarly, the names of the children were indicated as “Wanjagi”. In light of what we have stated above we cannot fault the appellants,” the judgment further reads.
The Court of Appeal held that the culprit in the incident was the individual who identified himself as Jared, and who produced and paid for the false death announcement.
“In light of the steps taken by the appellants subsequent to the publication, we find that the culprit in this case was the person who paid for the advertisement. It was not demonstrated that there was any negligence on the part of the appellants,” the court held.
