IFEX - News from the international freedom of expression community
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ACTION ALERT UPDATE - KENYA

13 August 2002

CPJ outraged over jailing of journalist for criminal defamation

SOURCE: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), New York

**Updates IFEX alerts on the Gatabaki case of 12 August 2002, 6 February
2001 and 8 December 1997; updates alerts on the media law of 10 May and 26
April 2002 and 17 December 2001**

(CPJ/IFEX) - In a 12 August 2002 letter to President Daniel arap Moi, CPJ
expressed outrage over the six-month jail sentence handed down to Njehu
Gatabaki, opposition member of parliament and the publisher and
editor-in-chief of "Finance" magazine.

On 9 August, Senior Principal Magistrate Wanjiru Karanja found Gatabaki
guilty of publishing an "alarming report" and sentenced him to a six-month
jail sentence without the option of a fine. The case stems from a December
1997 report in "Finance", titled "Moi ordered Molo Massacre," alleging that
the president was responsible for ethnic clashes that plagued parts of Rift
Valley Province in the early 1990s.

In her sentencing, Karanja called the article "irresponsible and alarming
journalism" that "should and must be discouraged." Gatabaki was taken into
custody after the sentencing and remains in jail. He has indicated that he
will appeal the ruling.

Gatabaki was originally arrested on 5 December 1997, and charged with three
counts of publishing an "alarming" article. He was granted bail and released
shortly thereafter. The case has been moving through Kenya's backlogged
court system since.

Gatabaki's sentence comes after the president's June signature of the
contentious Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments), which increased 100-fold
the bond publishers must pay to insure against losses they may incur from
libel or defamation suits.

In addition, members of the president's family and other high-level
politicians have brought-and won-several crippling libel and defamation
suits against newspapers and bookstores, effectively silencing critical
publications by bankrupting them.

CPJ notes that these legal actions have created a climate of intimidation
for the press in Kenya. The organization believes that journalists should
never face criminal prosecution for fulfilling their professional duties.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Send appeals to the president:
- urging him to do everything within his power to ensure that the case
against Gatabaki is dropped, and that he is released from custody
immediately
- noting that as the leader of his country, he is at the center of public
debate and, therefore, he and other high-ranking government officials must
tolerate public scrutiny, including harsh criticism
- reminding him that journalists cannot fulfill their role as long as the
government has the power to criminally prosecute them for their work
- calling on him to work toward decriminalizing press offenses in Kenya so
that journalists are allowed to practice their profession freely, without
fear of reprisal

APPEALS TO:

President Daniel arap Moi
Office of the President
Harambee House
Nairobi, Kenya
Fax: +254 2 721515

Please copy appeals to the source if possible.

For further information, contact Yves Sorokobi (ext. 112), Wacuka Mungai
(ext. 106) or Adam Posluns (ext. 107) at CPJ, 330 Seventh Ave., New York, NY
10001, U.S.A., tel: +1 212 465 1004, fax: +1 212 465 9568, e-mail:
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], Internet:
http://www.cpj.org/