Abala Wanga Awarded Ksh5 Million For Defamation
The Milimani Commercial Courts ordered the Kenya Laboratory Technicians and Technologists Board (KLTTB) to pay Sh5 million in damages for slander to its former CEO, Abala Wanga.
Senior Principal Magistrate Stephen Onjoro decided that the board’s public notice published in a local newspaper on August 20, 2014, was false, malicious, and harmful to Abala’s reputation.
The issue revolved around a notice indicating that Abala was no longer an employee of the Board and was not authorized to conduct any business on its behalf, warning the public not to engage with him.
The Board defended the declaration as a genuine, good-faith announcement designed to protect the public.
Abala claimed it was defamatory, causing him embarrassment and limiting his work opportunities.
Magistrate Onjoro first concluded that the words were defamatory.
He reasoned that the notice’s implication—that Abala constituted a risk to the public and needed a warning—would diminish his stature in the eyes of right-thinking society, implying untrustworthiness.
This was backed by evidence that the plaintiff got a large number of worried queries from his professional and personal networks after the publication.
“A defence of justification cannot be sustained by relying on unproven allegations,” he stated.
The court then dismissed the Board’s primary defenses.
On justification, the magistrate concluded that, while Abala’s employment had ended, the defamatory “sting” implied malfeasance.
The Board attempted to explain this by citing unsubstantiated fraud claims, but the magistrate noted Abala was eventually acquitted on those charges.
Kisumu City Manager Abala Wanga to Plead on Forgery and Sh8.7M Fraud Charges on Dec 19
— Court Helicopter News (@CourtHelicopter) December 4, 2025
The Nairobi Anti-Corruption Court has postponed the plea-taking of Kisumu City Manager Abala Wanga to December 19, 2025. Abala is accused of forging his KCSE certificate and fraudulently… pic.twitter.com/USqkJrHPDK
The defence of qualified privilege also failed. The magistrate acknowledged an employer’s duty to inform relevant parties of a staff change but found the Board’s action disproportionate.
The notice was published in a national newspaper nine months after Abala’s departure, with no evidence that he had misrepresented himself during that period.
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The wide publication and delay suggested a motive to discredit rather than to dutifully inform.
Consequently, the court found the publication was actuated by malice, defeating the privilege defence.
Magistrate Onjoro awarded Abala Sh4 million in general damages for the injury to his reputation and a further Sh1 million as aggravated damages, citing the Board’s conduct in the suit. The total award stands at Sh5 million.
Abala Wanga Awarded Ksh5 Million For Defamation
