Description

LAW OF TORT

Question One:

Jack Parapinyi is the Member of Parliament for Karuguti Constituency. He is a very well-known figure in public circiles as his rags to riches story has been the source of inspiration to many and the main reason for his popularity among common folk in his constituency. Jack has spearheaded several projects including the building of schools and hospitals in the area. This has earned him the moniker “mtu wa watu”

One evening however as he was watching the 7 p.m news with his family, a story was aired about a certain MP who has been involved in a child trafficking and prostitution ring. The story included a video clip which showed a silver, 4-wheel drive “Hummer” vehicle being driven at night, picking up 2 ladies near a student hostel at around 3.30 a.m on a Saturday morning. The story also mentioned “man of the people” in reference to the alleged owner of the “Hummer” vehicle.

Jack was shocked and out of his wits. He owned a silver “Hummer”, the only one of its kind in the entire country. Additionally, he felt that the phrase “man of the people” used in the story was a direct reference to his well-known moniker “mtu wa watu”. Jack quickly called the news station that aired the story and demanded that they apologize and take the story down. In his defence, he mentioned that on the said day he was at home with his wife and that he usually does not monitor the whereabouts of his driver once official working hours are over. The media station assured Jack that the matter was under consideration and action was being taken.

However, due to Jacks’ popularity, the story immediately started trending and he received hundreds of calls from concerned constituents enquiring about the story. To make matters worse, due to the massive response from the public, the media station decided to run the story on the 9.00 p.m news and the front page of their daily nationwide newspaper. Because of this, all other media stations in the country picked up on the story and for 3 days Jack was the main focus of the media. The follow-up stories on Jack unearthed even more controversy including forged academic papers that Jack used to vie for his parliamentary seat.

Jack is completely devastated and feels that his political career is over. He blames his political opponents for orchestrating the entire story.

1. Advise Jack on the possible Legal avenues for his predicament. (15 Marks)
2. What are the various defences that the media can raise against Jack’s claims

(10 Marks)