On Wednesday 1 March 2000, the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) was ordered to restore frequencies it had withdrawn from Royal Media to operate radio services. The company had appealed against the Tuesday 29 February ruling in a suit involving the communications body. Justice Kassanga Mulwa granted the company a mandatory injunction, requiring the CCK […]
On Wednesday 1 March 2000, the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) was ordered to restore frequencies it had withdrawn from Royal Media to operate radio services. The company had appealed against the Tuesday 29 February ruling in a suit involving the communications body.
Justice Kassanga Mulwa granted the company a mandatory injunction, requiring the CCK to restore all frequencies it had granted to Royal Media in Nyeri and Nyambene pending the hearing of the suit. Justice Mulwa gave Royal Media fourteen days to pay all the fee arrears for the frequencies and the renewal fees pending the hearing of the appeal.
In a previous ruling, Justice Mulwa, sitting at the Milimani Commercial Courts, struck out an application filed by Royal Media against Telkom Kenya, CCK and Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), and refused to grant an injunction against the parties to restrain them from interfering with the operations of the station pending the hearing of the suit.
However, in his ruling yesterday, the judge said: “The country may be contravening the existing international obligations and the previous ruling would serve no purpose if the matter is taken to the Court of Appeal and the ruling overturned while the operations of Royal Media have come to a halt.” But he declined to grant orders sought against the KBC, saying it was difficult to enforce the injunctions because the two had made separate arrangements. He told Royal Media to seek alternatives to its previous arrangement to use KBC’s transmitter stations.
Kenneth Kiplagat, of the CCK, applied for leave to file an application to oppose the injunctions.
The hearing continues.
