Court awards Pastor Ng’ang’a Sh2.5 Million in defamation suit against Standard media

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The Milimani Commercial Magistrate’s Court has awarded Pastor James Ng’ang’a and his co-plaintiff Sh2.5 million in general damages after finding Standard Media Group liable for defamation over a 2015 publication in The Nairobian.

In a judgment delivered on Thursday, Principal Magistrate Hon. Hosea Mwangi Ng’ang’a ruled that the article titled “WHY I’M DIVORCING PASTOR NG’ANG’A” was misleading and unfair, holding that it selectively presented allegations without giving equal weight to the pastor’s response.

Pastor James Ng'ang'a/Photo/X

The court found that the story portrayed the pastor as a “drunkard,” “immoral man,” and “womanizer,” damaging his reputation and allegedly leading to the loss of about 1,000 congregants from Neno Evangelism Centre.

The defendant had argued that the publication was protected under qualified privilege and fair comment, saying it relied on public court records from child custody proceedings filed in 2014. 

Pastor James Ng'ang'a 

However, the court held that the media house failed to exercise due care in reporting, noting that the matter was framed as a divorce case when it was in fact about custody.

“The publication was selective and skewed,” the magistrate observed, adding that the defence of qualified privilege could not apply where journalistic fairness was not upheld.

While the court awarded general damages of Sh2.5 million to the plaintiffs jointly, it declined to grant aggravated damages, finding no evidence of malicious intent. 

The magistrate also rejected requests for a permanent injunction and a public apology, citing the need to safeguard press freedom and avoid gagging the media.

A 30-day stay of execution was granted to allow for any intended appeal.

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