Donald Kipkorir Triumphs in Court, Bags Ksh1 Million from Muthaiga Golf Club

Muthaiga Country Club (MCC) has been ordered to pay Ksh1 million in damages to lawyer Don B. Kipkorir, who sued the club alleging that it had breached his constitutional rights.

The court ruled in a case by Justice Chacha Mwita that the high-profile club had unlawfully refused to admit Kipkorir even though he was an invited guest.

The ruling was a strong declaration of the rights of people welcomed to the private institutions to receive fair treatment, in line with the law. Kipkorir, a prominent lawyer, said he was pleased with the court ruling and thankful to his legal team, and made the announcement on Friday, November 7.

He said that Justice Chacha Mwita today passed judgment on my constitutional petition against Muthaiga Country Club, which had denied me entry on the most unreasonable grounds. Justice Mwita, one of our greatest judges of mind and character, believed that MCC infringed my constitutional rights and will not deny me entry in case I am invited by a member.

The attorney also indicated that he received damages amounting to Ksh1 million and legal fees as well.

He credited his counsel, Peter Wanyama, with what he described as exemplary constitutional litigation and standing against what he termed as faceless bullies.

The judge ordered damages of Ksh1 million to be paid to me, together with legal expenses.

I owe to my learned attorney Peter Wanyama great constitutional litigation and resistance to nameless bullies, which he wrote in a social media post soon after the decision. In his case, Kipkorir was arguing discrimination and arbitrariness on the part of the management of Muthaiga Country Club.

He claimed that the action of the club to refuse him entrance despite being a guest of a registered member constituted the infringement of his right to equality and dignity and freedom of association as provided in the Constitution. Kipkorir in his post-verdict comments, also fired at the controversial blackballing practice at the club, which is a long-standing practice in some of the elite clubs where members can cast votes (anonymously) against the membership or a guest of a potential new member.

According to Kipkorir, Muthaiga Country Club needs to drop its policy of blackballing, in which members of the club can have a personal vendetta against a guest by suspending them anonymously to prevent them from coming to the club or even joining as a member.

An accuser should be man enough to emerge rather than lurking in the shadows like a weasel. The ruling of the High Court has elicited a debate on inclusivity and responsibility in the case of individual clubs in Kenya. The opponents of this type of institution have long blamed them for having outdated policies concerning membership that continue to perpetuate elitism and discrimination in the name of exclusivity.

The decision is perceived to be a success not only to Kipkorir but also to other persons who might have gone through the same experience in the social institutions privately.

Legal observers have remarked that the decision supports the concept that even though private clubs have the right to control membership, they still have to maintain constitutional values, and they cannot discriminate arbitrarily against guests or applicants.

In the meantime, the decision was only made a few days following another high-profile court win involving the personalities of the people. On Wednesday, November 5, a comedian and media personality, Oga Obinna sued Radio Jambo presenter Massawe Japanni, socialite Maureen Imbayi (popularly referred to as Black Cinderella) and Radio Africa Group and won a defamation lawsuit worth Ksh6 million.

The three pleaded guilty before Justice Edward Too of the Milimani Commercial Magistrate Court to having defamed Obinna using false utterances made on the air during a Radio Jambo show hosted by Massawe Japanni.

The court established that the statements were harmful to the character of Obinna, and they had been aired without checking.

Obinna was awarded Ksh5 million general damages, Ksh500,000 aggravated damages, Ksh500,000 in lieu of apology, and Ksh100,000 exemplary damages.

The court also made a permanent injunction to prohibit any other defamatory statements by the defendants on him.

The two decisions taken together highlight the increasing aggressiveness of the judiciary in ensuring that constitutional rights are met, and citizens are not defamed or discriminated against in any case.