Former MTN boss loses defamation case against Nation Media Group
By Juliet Kigongo
Court has dismissed with costs a case in which former MTN boss Anthony Katamba accused Nation Media Group (NGM-U) of defaming him through its newspaper articles.
Katamba, through his lawyers had sued the NMG, the Editor in Chief of the East African Newspaper and journalists, Michael Wakabi and Charles Mpagi.
The media house was jointly sued with MTN Uganda Limited and former employees; Wim Vanhelleputte and Michael Sekadde.
They were sued in regard to the alleged defamation in a February 16-22, 2019 news article published in the East African Newspaper contending that it was falsely and maliciously printed.
But High Court Judge Musa Ssekaana ruled that Katamba’s allegations of malice were a mere assumption and that he was bitter after losing his employment and made some utterances in rage and fury.
Justice Ssekaana reasoned that the excerpts of the questioned article show that the publication was commentary about the ongoing events at MTN Uganda Limited office which was a matter of public interest.
“The defendants did not make statements that they claimed were their own but rather informed the public about the ongoing circumstances. The comments were based on true and existing facts and related to events occurring at the time with MTN management. The words used or which constitute the comment relied upon are fair and an honest expression of the editor’s real opinion,” he added.
The court ruled that Mr Katamba failed to prove negligence or malice on the part of the accused parties in publishing the ongoing or concluded criminal proceedings where his name was cited in torture to extract a confession.
Justice Ssekaana observed that the media house reported on the court proceedings and court ruling to publish the article however unfair it seemed against the plaintiff.
Court records show that Mr Katamba had sued the media house and the journalists contending that they falsely and maliciously printed and published or caused to be written and published statements of a defamatory nature to him.
He also claimed that MTN Uganda Limited and its employees deliberately released information to various media houses which were utterly false and unfounded and that the words were highly defamatory of him and calculated to lower his hitherto high esteem in the eyes of right-thinking members of society.
Through his lawyers, Katamba had contended that the accused parties jointly and severally, falsely and maliciously, wrote, printed, and published or caused to be written and published of him.
Justice Ssekaana added that the communication in the email by Vanhelleputte to the Board was without malice to a group of people who had a legitimate interest in knowing of Katamba’s termination and connected matters including the threats he made to him.
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