Siaya blogger fined Sh3.3m for defaming county official on Facebook
A Siaya court has has ordered a man to pay Sh3.3 million in damages for defaming a public official on Facebook.
A magistrate's court in Siaya has ordered a man to pay Sh3.3 million in damages for defaming a county official on Facebook and WhatsApp.
Mr Wilfred Ouma Nyagudi, the Chief Executive Officer of the Siaya County Public Service Board, sued Michael Ochieng, also known as Mike Ochieng, for circulating defamatory statements accompanied by his photograph on social media.
Magistrate Jacob Mkala ruled that Mr Nyagudi suffered reputational harm as a result of the posts which first appeared on Facebook and were later widely shared across WhatsApp groups in Siaya County.
“The defendant shall pay the plaintiff general damages of Sh3 million and exemplary damages of Sh300,000,” said Magistrate Mkala.
The award will attract interest from the date of the judgment.
The court also directed Mr Ochieng’ to permanently delete the defamatory content from all social media platforms and issue a public apology through the same channels.
Offending posts
“The defendant shall delete the offending posts from Facebook and WhatsApp and offer an unreserved apology to the plaintiff,” the magistrate ruled.
The case arose from a Facebook post where Mr Ochieng’ shared Mr Nyagudi’s image with the caption: “Let’s pray for Siaya Public Board CEO Mr Wilfred Nyagudi this Palm Sunday…”
Mr Nyagudi said the statement was sarcastic and meant to portray him negatively, especially when coupled with a widely circulated image. He stated that the words, by implication, suggested he was morally corrupt or unfit for public office.
“The words, by their ordinary meaning and innuendo, were crafted to make society view me as a person lacking integrity and scruples,” Mr Nyagudi said in his affidavit.
He told the court that the post damaged his professional standing and exposed him to ridicule, undermining public confidence in his leadership.
In defence, Mr Ochieng’ presented newspaper articles alleging irregular hiring practices within Siaya County.
He claimed his post was a fair comment on matters of public interest and that Mr Nyagudi as CEO of the board was implicated in the controversy.
However, Magistrate Mkala rejected that argument noting that the article Mr Ochieng submitted made no mention of the plaintiff.
“The newspaper article does not mention the plaintiff at all. Furthermore, while the defense argued that the plaintiff heads the board, he serves only as its secretary. The chairperson is the official head,” he clarified.
The magistrate concluded that Mr Ochieng’ failed to prove his statements were factually correct or justified as fair comments.