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PCEA church to pay sacked ‘elder’ Sh5.5m for defamation


A Nakuru High Court has awarded a church elder Sh5.5 million in a defamation case against the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA).

Justice Janet Mulwa directed that Joseph Kamira Wanjau be paid the amount by the church as compensation for defaming him.

Mr Wanjau, through his lawyer Karanja Mbugua, sued the church and the PCEA Foundation for defamation after a letter announcing his sacking was read in more than 30 churches in November 2013.

Mr Wanjau, who is also a businessman in Nakuru Town, moved to court seeking compensation for damages caused by the letter said to have been read on three consecutive Sundays.

“The court finds that the announcements were malicious and aimed at ruining his reputation. After consideration of all evidence presented in court, the court finds it necessary to award him Sh5.5 million as compensation for the damages caused,” said Justice Mulwa during her judgement.

The judge noted that the announcement of the cleric’s sacking may have tarnished his image and disparaged him both economically and socially.

ARROGANT ELDER

In his suit, Mr Wanjau claimed that the announcement depicted him as a crook, an undisciplined and arrogant elder.

This made him lose friends while his business fortunes dwindled, including that of Cool Rivers Hotel situated along the Nakuru-Nairobi highway.

Mr Wanjau, who was the chairman of a committee taking care of a Sh90 million rental house owned by the church, earlier told the court that he ran into trouble after he revealed that Reverend Llyod Kabaiya, then in charge of the Nakuru church, had unsuccessfully plotted to sell the property.

The property is situated in Milimani Estate on the outskirts of Nakuru Town.

At the time, Reverend Kabaiya had received a transfer letter deploying him to Nteiya in Limuru, he said.

Mr Wanjau said he was accused of holding onto keys, a title deed, financial returns and other documents on the residential house that were required by the church’s management before he was sacked.

SUFFERED DAMAGES

The house, the court heard, had been occupied by a tenant who was paying Sh35, 000 monthly as rent.

He said a section of church leaders had demanded the key from him but he declined to hand it over, demanding that the right procedures be followed.

He said the move prompted the cleric and the church management to sack him through the letter, which was read across all the churches.

“I was the chairman of the caretaker committee, which was in charge of maintaining the house. There was no way I could just hand over the key without permission from other members,” he had told court.

However, Reverend Kabaiya, now in Meru, who testified on behalf of the PCEA church, told the court the church followed the right procedure in sacking the elder. He said Mr Wanjau did not suffer any damages due to the dismissal.

He said the letter announcing Mr Wanjau’s sacking, which was read in more than 30 churches in November 2013, was in accordance with the church’s rules and did not in any way portray the cleric as a crook.