Three media houses are required to respond to a suit filed by a Starehe Parliamentary aspirant Steve Mbogo within seven days, a Court has directed.
The controversial businessman is seeking to bar four media houses from airing an investigative story linking him to a defilement case.
Mbogo moved to court two weeks ago claiming the defendants – Nation Media Group, MediaMax Group, The Standard Group and the Star – had indicated to him through telephone calls and text messages that they are working on an investigative story to link him to a defilement case in which he was cleared by the court over five years ago.
Also Read: Steve Mbogo Moves to Court in Bid to Stop Media Houses from Airing an Exposé
Of the four, only MediaMax has responded to the suit.
MediaMax newspaper, the People Daily, through law firm Wainaina Ireri & Company, says the suit by Mbogo is an attempt to infringe on media freedom.
According to the Star, People Daily says the suit should not be entertained by the court on grounds it has not satisfied the threshold for the court orders sought.
Mbogo argues that the story will cause him “untold suffering and prejudice” which will affect how his supporters view him ahead of August 8 polls.
Nairobi senior resident magistrate David Mbeja asked the remaining media houses to respond before the case comes up for hearing on July 13.
