Kisumu City Manager Abala Wanga/FAITH MATETE
The Milimani Commercial Courts have ordered the Kenya Laboratory Technicians and Technologists Board (KLTTB) to pay its former Chief Executive Officer, Abala Wanga, Sh5 million as damages for defamation.
Senior Principal Magistrate Stephen Onjoro ruled that a public notice published by the board in a local daily on August 20, 2014, was false, malicious, and injurious to Abala’s reputation.
The case centred on a notice announcing that Abala was no longer an employee of the Board and was not authorised to transact any business on its behalf, warning the public against dealing with him.
While the Board defended the statement as a true, good-faith announcement to protect the public, Abala contended it was defamatory, causing him embarrassment and hindering his employment prospects.
In his analysis, Magistrate Onjoro first determined that the words were indeed defamatory.
He reasoned that the notice’s implication—that Abala posed a risk to the public and required a warning—would lower his standing in the eyes of right-thinking society, suggesting untrustworthiness.
This was supported by evidence that the plaintiff received numerous concerned inquiries from his professional and personal networks following the publication.
The court then rejected the Board’s key defences.
On justification, the magistrate held that while Abala’s employment had ended, the defamatory “sting” was the suggestion of misconduct.
The Board had attempted to justify this by referencing unproven fraud allegations, but the magistrate noted Abala was later acquitted of those charges.
“A defence of justification cannot be sustained by relying on unproven allegations,” he stated.
The defence of qualified privilege also failed.
The magistrate acknowledged an employer’s duty to inform relevant parties of a staff change but found the Board’s action disproportionate.
The notice was published in a national newspaper nine months after Abala’s departure, with no evidence he had misrepresented himself during that period.
The wide publication and delay suggested a motive to discredit rather than to dutifully inform.
Consequently, the court found the publication was actuated by malice, defeating the privilege defence.
Magistrate Onjoro awarded Abala Sh4 million in general damages for the injury to his reputation and a further Sh1 million as aggravated damages, citing the Board’s conduct in the suit. The total award stands at Sh5 million.
