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Standard Media Group was on August 17, ordered to pay Sh6.5 million to former traffic officer Linda Okello.
In his ruling, Justice Ongeri ruled that the publication was guilty of improper sharing of her image and likeness and using her image for commercial gain and publicity.
Linda sued the media house in 2014 after the Nairobian, a publication by Standard Media Group, published a story claiming that she would be the chief guest at a fundraising event.
In the article, the author claimed that the event organiser had contracted the former cop to appear in the event, albeit using degrading and sensational language.
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In the court documents, Linda argued that she was not part of the sensational event and that the author did not contact her to ascertain the truth.
She argued that the article at the time, painted a bad picture about Okello to her employer, the National Police Service Commission.
“The Plaintiff stated that due to the publication, she has had to defend herself from colleagues' and superiors' opinion,” read a part of her application to the court.
Two years after the viral photo, Okello was demoted to the rank of constable, which also resulted in a suit against the Police IG at the time Joseph Boinnet.
She sued Boinnet for wrongful demotion and argued that she was not given an opportunity to defend herself from allegations of corruption.
Okello has since quit the police force and relocated to the United States.
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