BY SAM ALFAN.
Embattled director of Tegat Tea Factory in Kericho county John Chebochok has urged the High Court to dismiss a petition seeking to find him unfit to hold public office.
Chebochok was recently elected the director causing uproar among human rights groups as well as multinationals opposed to his directorship.
Chebochok said he had written to BBC Africa seeking compensation over defamation allegation in the exposé aired last year accusing him of soliciting for sex from tea pickers.
He says he met all requirements that occasioned him to be validly and democratically elected by farmers as the director of Tegat/Toror Tea Factory on 28th of June 2024.
“The Petitioners cannot invite the court to grant orders solely on their interpretation of the law on such serious provisions. I reiterate my innocence on the said allegations,” says Chebochok.
He adds that the lobby groups should not be allowed to mislead the court into holding there was no inquiry into pertinent issues as at the time of elections of the directorship of Tegat/Toror Tea Factory simply because they want to force a different outcome than one that was validly reached.
He says he has been unwarrantedly embarrassed before his family, friends, farmers and other members of the Public courtesy of the news outlet which aired the documentary without determining the veracity of the allegations of the said women employees.
“Had the story been thoroughly investigated, the documentary could not have been aired the callous manner as it was. The impugned letters are simply, sadly, an unwarranted continuation of the propaganda started by the BBC News Africa via misleading documentary,” claims Chebochok.
He further state that BBC News Africa has no constitutional nor statutory mandate to determine integrity of any person nor entity.
“They had no such mandate to clear me for purposes of the directorship elections using the said aspects,” says Chebochok.
