The High Court has directed Royal Media Services (RMS), owned by businessman S.K. Macharia, to cease broadcasting a media campaign against Directline Assurance on its television and radio stations.
The campaign had alleged that insurance policies issued by Directline Assurance were invalid and that the company would not settle any pending claims.
In granting an injunction against the advertisement, Justice Francis Gikonyo, on Wednesday, January 22, ruled that the campaign had significantly affected the financial standing of the insurance company.
“Accordingly, the 1st defendant (S.K. Macharia), his agents, employees, or representatives, or any other party, are hereby restrained from publishing, printing, distributing, broadcasting, or otherwise circulating the advertisements,” the court ruled.
The company, which is the largest insurer of Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) in Kenya, had filed a petition seeking to compel the court to stop the cautionary campaign by Citizen TV which warned motorists not to buy insurance policies from them.
The insurance firm maintained that the insurance products issued were valid and that the company was still operational despite the advert.
On January 21, Directline officials held a press briefing in Nairobi, where its intermediaries and partners in the transport sector reaffirmed that the company was operational, issuing covers and settling all valid claims.
Directline's Acting Principal Officer, Sammy Kanyi, confirmed that the company continued to pay valid claims between January 1 and January 21, this year. "We paid Ksh108 million in claims, with Ksh16.8 million paid out yesterday, January 21, 2025 alone,” Kanyi said.
Similarly, in response to the advert, the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) faulted SK Macharia and assured the public that the company was still operational.
"All insurance policies issued by Directline Assurance Company Limited remain in full force and effect. Policyholders can rest assured that their contracts remain valid, and the insurer is fully liable for any claims arising therefrom,” noted the Insurance Regulator Authority.
Meanwhile, SK Macharia on December 17, last year, wrote to IRA demanding the immediate removal of four Assurance Company shareholders from the CR12.
In a letter directed to IRA's Chief Manager Godfrey Kiptum, Macharia, through his lawyer Danstan Omari, warned that failure by the regulator to remove the name of the four shareholders from the CR12 would attract legal action.
