This archive report was first published on 9 August 2019.
On a sunny September weekend day in 2014, Tony Mochama, popularly known as Smitta Smitten, attended a poetry meeting at a house in Spring Valley, Nairobi, that would change his life.
The meeting, attended by 12 poets, including Kwame Dawes, a prominent African-American poet, was hosted by Professor Wambui Mwangi, who wasn't present.
After the meeting, Tony went to the Storymoja Lit Fest at the National Museum, where he was on a presentation panel.
However, the evening after the poetry meeting, Wambui Mwangi began a bitter smear campaign on Twitter, targeting Tony's employer, literary sponsors, publishers, and fans of his Pulse column.
The campaign was sparked by allegations made by Shailja Patel, who claimed that Tony had sexually assaulted her during the poetry meeting.
However, the court later found that the allegations were baseless and false, and that Patel had waited for everyone to leave before making her claims.
Professor Wambui Mwangi also made reckless and defamatory statements on Twitter, which were found to be unfounded and malicious by the court.
The court issued a mandatory injunction against Patel and Wambui, ordering them to pay Tony Sh8 million as vindication of his innocence and a 'fair and reasonable consolation for the wrong done.'
They were also slapped with a Sh1 million exemplary and punitive damages, and ordered to pay the cost of the suit to Tony's lawyer, Felix Mutua of Sichangi and Company Advocates.
They were also given 14 days to issue Tony with a full and written apology.
