BY SAM ALFAN.
An advertising company has suffered a major setback after the High Court declined to stop Kenya Airport Authority from removing its digital screens at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
Justice Josephine Mong’are dismissed the application by Alpha & Jam Kenya ltd, seeking to stop KAA from removing the screens at the country’s largest Airport.
The judge dismissed the application terming saying there was no merit and that the advertising company did not establish a prima facie case with a likelihood of success for her to consider the other two remaining steps to award an order for injunction.
“In the premises therefore, I find and hold that the application for injunction is without merit and order that the same is hereby dismissed with costs to KAA. It is so ordered,” ruled Judge Mong’are.
The firm moved to court seeking to restrain KAA from evicting it from the Airport or disconnecting the power to its equipment and therefore disabling it and rendering its operations untenable in the circumstances.
It also asked the court to direct KAA to immediately reinstate unduly and unlawfully disconnected electricity/power to the company’s infrastructures at JKIA, pending the determination of the case.
The company through Anthony Kimani told the court that argued that it has heavily invested in infrastructure towards its operations.
The court heard that KAA intended to evict it from the Airport or disconnecting the power to its equipment and therefore disabling it and rendering its operations untenable in the circumstances.
The digital advertising company further argued that it has met the threshold for a grant of injunction.
The company reiterated that it had legitimate expectation that KAA would allow it to continue to operate as it rolled out the new concession agreements with the new advertising companies.
KAA opposed the company’s application arguing that the application before the court was unmerited and without basis and urges the court to dismiss the same.
It was KAA’s position that the digital advertising company is a stranger to the alleged concessionaire agreements between KAA, Scanad and Media Edge.
KAA further argued that the said concessionaire agreements have since lapsed and no longer available to the digital advertising company to make reference or reliance on. Being third party agreements to which they were not a party.
“Alpha & Jam Kenya ltd is therefore an imposter and a stranger at the airports and therefore a threat to the public,” KAA told the court.
KAA further argued that in any event, new concession agreements have already been created between the Defendant and different parties pursuant to tender floated. to which Alpha & Jam Kenya ltd had notice of but opted not to participate in.
Airport Authority further argued that the company had not entered into a contractual relationship with the Airport Authority from which rights and obligations emanate to warrant the orders being sought and urges the court to dismiss the application with costs to it.
