- Mercy Mwanzia also wants Alan .J. Rhoades to pay her damages for also using her child’s photograph in a thread on the said Facebook post.
- She produced in court a picture of what he allegedly wrote on a Facebook group.
Image: FILE
A Kenyan businesswoman has sued a Briton for using her photograph as his profile picture to malign her character on Facebook.
Mercy Mwanzia also wants Alan J Rhoades to pay her damages for using her child’s photograph in a thread on a Facebook post.
Mwanzia produced in court a picture of what Rhoades allegedly wrote in the Black Women and White guys Facebook group.
“No one can replace, my wife, in my profile pic who left me after spending only three weeks in England”.
Mwanzia says Rhoades, who is based in the UK, published the above post claiming she was his wife on January 16, 2022.
“His profile picture at the time was a clear photograph of myself uploaded without my knowledge or consent,” she argues.
According to court documents, the said post elicited a lot of reactions and comments to which he eagerly replied and supplied his audience with timely responses to queries raised on the post.
“The post and ensuing comments were to say the least disparaging and occasioned untold anguish and emotional distress to me,” Mwanzia said.
She further claims that even in one of the thread of comments, his online audience even alluded that she had passed away.
Mwanzia said in another comment, her child's photo was reposted, which she argues is in total disregard of the minor’s rights.
“I am greatly disturbed by the insensitive publication of the minor’s photo to strangers on an adult dating platform,” she said.
Lawyer Mbugua Ng’ang’a argues that owing to the Facebook group's enormous following of over 59,000 members, the said post had been reposted and shared on Facebook and other social media platforms.
As a consequence, she has received numerous calls and text messages from concerned family members, friends and business acquaintances.
“His insensitivity has exposed my private and family life to the world and subjected her to trolling and condemnation,” Mwanzia said.
The woman said she is apprehensive of the negative impact the disparaging publication threatens to her social life and of her child.
She wants compensation in form of general and exemplary damages for violation of her rights and the minor’s fundamental rights and freedoms.
-Edited by SKanyara