Machakos Senator Johnson Muthama, Siaya Senator James Orengo with Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula who sued British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for linking him to allegations of bribery made against British American Tobacco outside milimani law courts on Thursday January 7, 2016..
BY SAM ALFAN.
High Court has extended orders restraining the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) from linking Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula to allegations of bribery made against British American Tobacco.
Justice Roselyne Aburili extended the orders for another two weeks after she heard from Wetangula’s lawyer James Orengo that they had been unable to serve their defamation suit papers on the BBC since they filed them in December.
Orengo told the Court that their process servers were sent back with the papers when they attempted to serve them on the BBC’s Nairobi office.
He said the BBC had also failed to respond to the suit papers mailed to their London headquarters.
Orengo told the court, they also served BBC board but later the document were returned to them while opened which indicate they went through the documents before returning them to his office.
Aburili therefore directed that a fresh attempt be made at serving the papers within the fortnight so an intre-parties hearing can be held on January 26.
British Broadcasting Corporation was restrained from televising or publishing a story linking Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula to bribery and corruption.
Justice Nicholas Ombija, said that pending the hearing for the defamation suit against BBC, there should no negative publication against the senator over allegation bribery by the British American Tobacco Company.
The judge that the court has considered the application by senator is urgent and ought to be heard, while the ongoing publication is halted.
Wetangula filed a defamation suit against BBC accusing broadcasting organization of linking him with bribery allegations alleged to have occurred some three years ago.
He told the vacation judge that senator was defamed by BBC in its program me known as Panorama, which portrayed him has having solicited the purchase of an airline ticket to London for his wife.
The programme, he said revealed that the senator was corruptly involved in a corporate scandal in which BAT bribed him while he serving as minister for Trade during the retired President Daniel arap Moi government.
Orengo submitted that impugned story televised by BBC has continued to be in circulation through a multitude of electronic and print media to his prejudice.
He told the court that the article has been used as a basis of unjustified attacks against the senator by his political rivals and civil society.
“It is difficult for the senator to perform his duties and functions under the cloud of defamatory story which is causing him stress, anxiety and embarrassment” the court heard
The lawyer argued that the story is and report i false and malicious and cannot be true.
The news story and the Panorama program e presented by Richard Bilton under the tittle ” The Secret Bribes Big Tobacco” alleged that in July 2012a person known as Julie Adelie Owino had requested for a purchase of a business class plane ticket to London for the use of the senator’s wife and he could be ” Hosted at Globe House”- BAT’s London Headquarters.
The matter will be mentioned on 26 of January for further directions.
