Court Orders Release of Tuko Editor Didacus Malowa

PHOTO CAPTION: Tuko editor Didacus Malowa who had been sentenced for five days for defying a court order. A TUKO editor who had been sentenced to five days in jail after he failed to adhere to court orders has found reprieve after the High Court ordered his immediate release.

Justice Esther Maina said the application before the court seeking a review of the order to send Didacus Malowa to jail has raised serious issues that need to be considered, and a determination made.

The editor had been sentenced by Magistrate Eunice Nyutu who is presiding over an ongoing National Youth Service (NYS) corruption case.

She reprimanded the editor for allegedly failing to apologize for publishing what the court termed as a misleading article about the Sh226.9 million graft case.

She said that the sentence would serve as a warning to other journalists against misreporting.

His lawyer Assa Nyakundi told the judge that the editor was not given the opportunity to defend himself before he was sent to prison.

The lawyers submitted that the decision by the magistrate was made in bad faith, given that the editor had already paid Sh50,000 over the alleged contempt.

The editor apologized to the court and told the court that they pulled down the article.

At the same time, the Kenyan Union of Journalists (KUJ) filed an appeal with the High court against the orders seeking to imprison the editor.

The union also filed an application to have the order suspended for 24 hours.

The magistrate denied the appeal, asking the union to challenge the orders at the High Court, which they did.