(NDIMA/IFEX) – The publisher and editor-in-chief of a Nairobi weekly magazine entitled “Post on Sunday”, Tony Gachoka, faces an imminent jail sentence for printed comments implicating the Court of Appeal in bribery relating to the titanic legal battle between businessman Kamlesh Pattni and Dubai tycoon Ibrahim Ali. ** For background on cases involving Gachoka see […]
(NDIMA/IFEX) – The publisher and editor-in-chief of a Nairobi weekly
magazine entitled “Post on Sunday”, Tony Gachoka, faces an imminent jail
sentence for printed comments implicating the Court of Appeal in bribery
relating to the titanic legal battle between businessman Kamlesh Pattni
and Dubai tycoon Ibrahim Ali.
** For background on cases involving Gachoka see IFEX alerts of 23 July,
15 July, 10 July and 3 July 1998**
In addition Gachoka risks paying substantial amounts of money in damages
to Kenyan Chief Justice (CJ) Zaccheus Chesoni, who has sued the
publisher for articles that appeared in the latest two issues of his
weekly magazine.
Chesoni intends to file contempt proceedings against Gachoka and the
“Post on Sunday” for contravening the sub judice rule and for a
“scurrilous and unjustified attack” on the court, which he says was
calculated to bring into disrepute and contempt the administration of
justice.
Chesoni has already, in his private capacity, sued the publisher over
claims that he received a Kshs 30 million (approx. US$484,000) bribe
from Pattni to circumvent justice. The civil case will be heard
inter-parties on 25 February.
High Court judge Mary Ang’awa restrained Gachoka and his publication
from publishing any defamatory material on Chesoni on Friday 12 February
and qualified the CJ’s application as urgent.
Gachoka said that he had already been served with Chesoni’s papers but
that he was surprised by the application by the state submitted to the
Court of Appeal seeking to have him jailed.
The offending articles are the cover stories in the issue of 31 January
to 6 February of the weekly, headlined; “Chesoni implicated in an orgy
of judicial anarchy and a Kshs 30 million bribe”; and the 7 to 13
February issue, titled; “Judiciary in panic as Chesoni falls out of
favor and sues”.
Chesoni complained in his affidavit: “I have a wife and two children in
Kenya. The said words are untrue and the statements are causing
emotional distress and upheaval to both me and my entire family in view
of these untrue and unsubstantiated allegations. In view of my position
and professional status, these allegations can only do me irreparable
harm and damage.”
Court of Appeal judges Richard Otieno Kwach, Philip Tonui and A.B. Shah
will hear an application by the Attorney General seeking to apply for
orders to commit Gachoka to prison.
