Chuka Court To Decide Fate Of Governor Njuki’s Petition Against Former Chief Officer Over Social Media Posts
Governor Njuki
By: Denis Mutua
A case involving former Tharaka Nithi County Youths and Sports Chief Officer Wilberforce Ntwiga, who seeks to have a petition filed against him by Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki dismissed by the Chuka court and heard by another forum, is set for hearing on Monday next week.
Governor Njuki through Saluny Advocates LLP, filed a petition before Justice Lucy Gitari, the presiding judge at the Chuka High Court, seeking orders to restrain Wilberforce, the defendant, from publicizing, publishing, writing, posting, or commenting on the governor’s character, person, or performance of his duties as the elected governor of Tharaka Nithi County.
The petition includes a request to prohibit Wilberforce, his agents, and assigns from making such statements.
Additionally, the petition seeks to compel Wilberforce to remove all posts made on various online platforms between August 31 and September 2024, which the governor claims are defamatory.
Governor Njuki through his advocate, argues that Wilberforce’s posts contain false and defamatory allegations, including accusations of abuse of office, gross misconduct, and corruption, which the governor denies.
In response, Wilberforce through Mwiti Partners Advocates LLP, filed a preliminary objection, arguing that the court lacks jurisdiction to hear the case.
He asserts that Njuki did not not exhaust the statutory dispute resolution mechanism under the Media Council Act, No 46 of 2013 and the suit was prematurely filed in blatant disregard of Article 159(2) (C) of the Kenyan constitution.
Wilberforce contends that the Media Complaints Commission has jurisdiction over issues touching on human dignity, a right protected under the Act.
Governor Njuki’s legal team, however argues that the Media Council Act applies only to media enterprises, journalists, media practitioners, foreign journalists, and consumers of media services, as per Section 4 of the Act.
They assert that Wilberforce, acting in his personal capacity on social media, does not fall within this scope.
The governor’s lawyer argue that the dispute is between two individuals, neither of whom are journalists or media enterprises, and therefore, the case does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Media Complaints Commission.
Wilberforce has recently become a fierce critic of his former boss after losing his job, a move that has not been well received by Governor Njuki.
The court will on Monday hear the arguments of the two sides,to decide whether the Civil Case HCCC/E002/2024 will proceed at the Chuka court or be dismissed.
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