(NDIMA/IFEX) – The serialization of a book authored by former US ambassador to Kenya Smith Hempstone titled “Rogue Ambassador”, which the Nation Media Group (NMG) in Nairobi had planned to start this week, has been stopped. On 20 August 2001, lawyers acting for President Daniel Toroitich arap Moi and Cabinet Minister Nicholas Biwott threatened to […]
(NDIMA/IFEX) – The serialization of a book authored by former US ambassador to Kenya Smith Hempstone titled “Rogue Ambassador”, which the Nation Media Group (NMG) in Nairobi had planned to start this week, has been stopped. On 20 August 2001, lawyers acting for President Daniel Toroitich arap Moi and Cabinet Minister Nicholas Biwott threatened to take NMG to court over its plans to publish extracts from the controversial book by Hempstone, who served in Kenya between 1989 and 1993.
A letter was delivered to the “Daily Nation”‘s editorial director by the president’s lawyer, D. Oyasti of Shapley Barret and Company, following the newspaper’s announcement that serialization would begin on Wednesday 22 August.
Moi and Biwott are suing the retired envoy and a Kenyan bookshop chain, the Text Book Centre, over passages in the book that suggest the two leaders were linked to the 1991 murder of then Foreign Minister Robert Ouko.
In the suits filed on 30 July, Moi and Biwott requested the High Court to stop the publication, distribution and sale of the book and any material that contains reference to the Ouko murder allegations. They are also seeking compensation from the former ambassador for allegedly portraying them as criminals and people unfit to hold public office.
The “Daily Nation” prepared extracts from the book that provide dramatic accounts of Hempstone’s dealings with President Moi and his government officials. The extracts recount the struggle for pluralism in Kenya, and Hempstone’s relationship with reform advocates such as Kenneth Matiba, leader of the Ford Asili political party, and Charles Rubia.
On 21 August, Oyasti gave the “Daily Nation” a one-day deadline to state whether it would run the extracts as announced. He said the contents of “Rogue Ambassador” were the subject of a libel case and by serializing it, the newspaper would be republishing said book in the same manner as the Text Book Centre.
In his warning letter, the lawyer said that if the “Daily Nation” failed to reply to his letter by 9:00 a.m. (local time) on 21 August, he would take further necessary actions to protect his client’s interests. Included with the letter were extracts from the Stern vs Piper landmark libel case, which concerned repeating allegations that were part of pending High Court proceedings. Case documents were also served to Text Book Centre on behalf of Biwott last week, and the bookshop chain is now expected to enter a defence.
