Court Orders Ezekiel Mutua to Pay Nonini Ksh 3 Million in Defamation Suit

The Milimani Commercial Magistrate’s Court has awarded renowned Kenyan musician Hubert Nakitare, popularly known as Nonini, a total of Kshs. 3,000,000 in damages in a defamation suit filed against former Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) CEO Ezekiel Mutua.

In the case of Hubert Nakitare v Ezekiel Mutua, judgment delivered by Honorable J. Gitau ruled that untrue statements published by Mutua on X (formerly Twitter) lowered the musician’s reputation in the eyes of right-thinking members of society.

The defamation suit stemmed from a public dispute over music royalties. According to court documents, Nonini, a 24-year member of MCSK, officially resigned in May 2022, citing a lack of substantial royalty payouts. The court heard that in January 2024, following public outrage over Kshs. 20,000 royalty distribution to over 16,000 members, Nonini blew the whistle on his social media accounts regarding the society’s finances.

The plaintiff submitted that he had obtained a letter indicating the society collected over Kshs. 109 million between January and December 2023, but used Kshs. 57 million to pay employee salaries. In response, Mutua took to his X account and a local radio interview to attack the musician, insinuating that Nonini was a fugitive running away from the law because he resides in the United States of America.

In his defense, Mutua denied making defamatory remarks, claimed there was no rampant corruption at the society, and argued that Nonini was not a whistleblower. However, the court found that the defendant failed to prove his allegations were true.

Delivering the ruling, Magistrate Gitau noted that the remarks were likely to cause repetitional damage by painting the plaintiff as a fugitive attempting to evade the law. The court established that the statements were indeed published and maliciously intended to lower the musician’s image.

In determining the damages, the court considered Nonini’s status as a prominent public figure, noting that the impact of the defamatory remarks would be far-reaching. The court awarded Kshs. 2,500,000 in general damages. Additionally, the court awarded a further Kshs. 500,000 in exemplary and aggravated damages, bringing the total award to Kshs. 3,000,000.

The court has further ordered that the defamatory remarks be pulled down from Mutua’s social media accounts within 14 days of the judgment, and that the defendant bears the costs of the suit.