Flamboyant politician Steve Mbogo loses bid to gag media on rape case
A parliamentary candidate who lost in the recent General Election has suffered a setback after a court threw out his bid to stop media houses from publishing stories linking him to a rape case he faced eight years ago.
The magistrate on Tuesday dismissed a case filed by former Starehe ODM candidate Steve Mbogo against The Star, Nation Media Group, Mediamax and the Standard Group.
Magistrate Mbeja ruled that his case lacked merit because the information is already in the public domain.
“Journalists unless barred by the court are entitled to publish a fair and accurate report of judicial proceedings before any court,” he ruled.
PUBLIC SCRUTINY
He added: “Elections are also over and all aspiring candidates of various political positions were subject to public scrutiny.”
However, magistrate Mbeja said that Mr Mbogo has the alternative of taking his complaint to the commission established under the Media Council Act whose mandate includes resolution of disputes between members of the public and the media.
In the criminal case which was before a Makadara court in 2009, Mr Mbogo was charged with the offence of defiling a 15 year-old girl on August 3, 2008 at a rented apartment in Kileleshwa Estate.
The incident allegedly happened when the minor went to his house to give him change because he had offered to buy olive oil for prayers at her parents’ house.
FABRICATED CHARGES
The politicians has denied the allegations while claiming that the charges were fabricated by the minor’s mother.
He also claimed in his defense that the mother had demanded Sh500,000 from him in order to drop the charges.
But the trial sentenced him to a 20 year jail term. He however did not serve that sentence since he claimed that it was quashed in an appeal that he lodged soon after.
In June, he had moved to court seeking to bar media houses from publishing any articles linking him to this case since he was vying for a parliamentary seat.
