(NDIMA/IFEX) – On 9 August 2002, the publisher of “Finance” magazine, Njehu Gatabaki, was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment over his magazine’s coverage of ethnic clashes in Molo, Kenya, in 1997. Gatabaki is also a member of parliament for Githunguri constituency and owner of the magazine. In December 1997, the now-defunct magazine published an article […]
(NDIMA/IFEX) – On 9 August 2002, the publisher of “Finance” magazine, Njehu Gatabaki, was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment over his magazine’s coverage of ethnic clashes in Molo, Kenya, in 1997. Gatabaki is also a member of parliament for Githunguri constituency and owner of the magazine.
In December 1997, the now-defunct magazine published an article entitled “Moi ordered the Molo Massacre”. The main story of the December 1997 issue dealt with killings which occurred in Molo just prior to the 1997 general election.
A court in Nairobi found Gatabaki guilty of “publishing an alarming publication”. The publisher told the magistrate that he had suffered for publishing the truth. “The truth will set this country free. The articles were true. I’m ready to bear that burden of bringing the message to Kenyans,” Gatabaki said.
The prosecution had argued that the magazine’s cover story and content was “likely to cause alarm among the public or disturb [the] peace.”
Gatabaki, who was unrepresented, was said to have committed the offence on 28 November 1997, as editor-in-chief of “Finance” magazine. He was given 14 days to appeal the sentence. In mitigation, he told the court that he and his family had suffered, “for publishing the truth, which cannot be accepted by the country (…) I have borne that pain and I’m ready to bear [it]. I still have several bankruptcy charges on account of publishing ‘Finance’.” He further stated that no publication had ever been convicted of the charges he faced.
Judge Karanja said that she had considered the publisher’s mitigation, which she described as little more than a political speech. “I’ve taken cognisance [of] the fact that the accused is [a] lawmaker who should be making laws and not breaking them. This is why this conviction should be taken very seriously,” Karanja said. She also noted that Gatabaki did not appear to be remorseful.
