Two Nairobi children are smiling all the way to the bank after being awarded Sh1.4 Million following a successful suit against two companies, Mcheza and Green Sports Africa Limited.
On Friday, the High Court awarded the money to the children after determining that their images were illegally used on billboard advertisements without their consent.
The minors, through their parents, moved to court to challenge Mcheza and Green Sports Africa Limited for illegally using their photos on a billboard erected next to Unga House, Westlands.
According to the petitioners, it was wrong to use the images of the minors to promote gambling without having consulted them.
The parents also informed the court that no payment was made to the children for the use of their images.
In defence, the two companies argued out that the images were not used for commercial gain stating that the petitioners did not demonstrate how their rights were violated.
The court, however, ruled: "A declaration is hereby issued that fundamental rights and freedoms of the two minors N.A.T and O.T.O were violated by the Green Sports Africa Ltd. actions of using their photograph in the billboard which was erected next to Unga House, Woodvale, Westlands in Nairobi County shared among the two minors."
The parents moved to court in August last year after the betting companies offered to pay each of the girls Sh10,000 in an out-of-court settlement, a deal which they rejected.
