A Tuko.co.ke junior editor has been sentenced to five days in jail for failing to comply with High Court orders issued by magistrate Eunice Nyutu.
Didacus Malowa, the editor, was imprisoned after allegedly refusing to apologize for a story misreported by the digital publisher.
The publisher asked the court to pardon the editor through their lawyer, claiming that he is traumatized and has been through a lot.
The court was informed that Tuko.co.ke and the Kenyan Union of Journalists (KUJ) have filed an appeal with the High Court against the orders issued by Magistrate Eunice Nyutu.
The DPP opposed the request to have the decision stayed pending an appeal in the High Court.
The publisher told the court, through its lawyer, that Tuko.co.ke is a website and not a legal entity that can be served.
“that’s not an entity it’s a webhost …even If we say go serve Tuko.co.ke that not a person…it’s a host…it’s non existence entity,” court was told
Another application by KUJ to have today’s decision suspended for 24 hours was denied by the magistrate.
“……move to high court and challenge the orders,”magistrate Eunice Nyutu said.
The latest comes after Magistrate Nyutu jailed the editor for six months or pay a fine of 50,000 shillings for allegedly misreporting and publishing an NYS story.
Nyutu said that the sentence would serve as a warning to other Journalists against misreporting.
The editor apologized to the court and told the court that they pulled down the article.