A Facebook post will cost a man Sh20 million after a judge ruled that the words contained in the posts on the social media platform were defamatory.
Michael Oduory alias Mike Ochieng’ might have made the posts in jest, but High Court judge David Kemei ruled that they were defamatory as they were meant to injure the complainant.
“Flowing from the foregoing, the act of the Defendant (Mr Oduory) in posting the defamatory words to the Plaintiff’s (the complainant) workmates depicted nothing but malice and that the Defendant was reckless as he did not inquire into the truth or otherwise of the facts,” the judge said.
The complainant, Mr Washington Bonyo alias Dasani, a member of the county assembly (MCA) in Siaya County, sued Mr Oduory over the posts, which he said were defamatory.
The court was informed that Mr Oduory had been begged by a colleague to expose the MCA for his bad ways.
The post was accompanied by a photo and another post alleging that the husband of a woman had ‘begged him’ to expose the MCA.
The judge noted that after being served with a demand notice, Mr Oduory failed to pull down the posts and offer an apology, forcing Mr Bonyo to move to court.
Mr Bonyo said the posts singularly and collectively, were defamatory and they were circulated to Facebook users, shared and quoted as well as being liked onto other Facebook timelines.
The MCA said the posts were accessible to anybody, world over and they were available online despite asking him to pull them down.
He said the posts brought him ridicule, scorn and disdain and to any reasonable right thinking members of the society would think ill of him as they depicted him as promiscuous and an immoral person, who knew no bounds.
Mr Bonyo further said the posts depicted him as a person of dubious character and unfit to hold any public office, and was also a fraudulent and corrupt person.
Mr Oduory denied being the person behind the posts stating that he was a resident of Nairobi and not Siaya and only knew Mr Bonyo as an MCA.
He said the posts might have been made by a political rival but it was certainly not from him, as he did not hold any political office.
Mr Oduory added that the suit came as a surprise to him as he had never been in any contravention with the law.
And although he was served with a demand letter his official name was Michael Ochieng’ Oduory and not Mike Ochieng’.
The judge said the evidence by Mr Bonyo was not challenged as Mr Oduory only entered appearance and filed a statement of defence but failed to present evidence to challenge the evidence presented.
“I find the Plaintiff’s evidence as uncontroverted. The documentary evidence left no doubt that indeed he had been defamed by the Defendant,” said the judge.
Other than the Sh20 million award of damages, the court directed Mr Oduory to offer an apology to Mr Bonyo and pulled down the posts.
The judge said the apology should be given the widest possible circulation through the same social media platform.
“A permanent injunction be issued to restrain the Defendant either by themselves, servants, agents or otherwise howsoever from further making or publishing the defamatory allegations against the Plaintiff,” said the judge.
