Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba on Saturday donated Ksh9 million won in a defamation case against Standard Media Group to charity.
In a statement, the CS revealed that the money would be a Christmas gift to the needy. The money shall be received by the board of trustees at Ababu Namwamba Foundation (ANF) as it marks its 20th anniversary.
According to Namwamba, ANF will use the funds to cater for fees for vulnerable students and empower transformative youth projects.
Namwamba further urged journalists to avoid publishing false information that may damage the reputation of innocent individuals.
"May the Ksh9 million awarded to me as damages serve as yet another stark lesson to journalists and the media to maintain fidelity to the straight and narrow of responsible reporting anchored on facts and not actuated by malice or recklessness," the CS stated.
He however complained that despite the lumpsum, no amount of money can undo the damage and pain caused to himself and his family.
The CS also revealed that the article may also have led to the loss of his job had it not been for his good relationship with the President. He argued that the article damaged his public image.
Meanwhile, in the case filed in 2018, the media house through its subsidiary Nairobian, published untrue details of an alleged love affair involving the CS and a family member.
The media house argued that it had interviewed reliable sources only to discover later that the interviewees were imposters. The media house also explained that they gave the CS the right to fair comment on the matter.
However, Standard Media Group was found to have acted recklessly and maliciously in how they published the false article.
"The defendants have not refuted any of his (Namwamba) evidence which is confirmed by their sentiments that they believed the words to be true," read part of the court documents.
