A five-star hotel in Nairobi has been ordered by the High Court to pay Sh2 million to Winfred Njoki as reparations for defamation and unlawful imprisonment.
According to Ms Njoki the incident happened 20 years ago in March 1998 after she showed up in the hotel to have a drink but she was denied the service on the basis that she was not in the company of a man.
After ordering a drink the waiter refused to serve her and demanded that she pay a cover charge because she was not residing at the hotel.
[caption caption="Intercontinental Hotel Nairobi"]
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On inquiry of what cover charge is she was forwarded to the manager who dismissed her as a sex worker.
He then ordered a security guard to throw her out of the facility.
“I was denied a chance to sit at the lounge and when I tried to board a taxi the driver was instructed not to carry me,” she stated.
She further indicated that despite explaining that she was married woman, the security guard dragged her out of the cab and shoved her to the street.
“The hotel management then called the police and instructed that I be arrested. I was held in Central Police Station for two days without any charges being pressed against me,” she disclosed.
The lady further claimed that the police mistreated her and neither took her statement nor recorded her arrest in the Occurrence Board (OB).
In defense, the hotel argued that it acted accordingly to her unruly behavior.
However Justice Msagha Mbogholi rejected the hotel’s argument stating that the treatment of Ms Njoki pointed to discrimination which was embarrassing and humiliating.
“Malice is evident in the language and actions taken. I therefore make an award of sh2 million against the hotel for defamation and sh1 million against the Attorney General for illegal imprisonment,” the judge ruled.
[caption caption="Justice Msagha Mbogholi"]
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