Can you force a newspaper to retract a defamatory story and publish an apology?

Swala Nyeti: Layman and Lawyer Discuss Legal Questions

In today’s episode, we discuss if you can force a newspaper to retract a defamatory story and publish an apology. Similar to the current case of Dinlas Pharma EPZ, which demands Nation Media to retract a story the newspaper published about it earlier this month and issue an apology.

Dinlas Pharma EPZ Limited is a company that was authorised by the Pharmaceutical and Poisons Board to import the Sputnik Vaccine that was manufactured in Russia. The authorization granted was Emergency Use, and the news was met with controversy since the Ministry of Health, through Dr Collins Tabu and Dr Willis Akhwale, denied knowledge of the authorization granted.

The issue became even more complicated once it was noted that KRA had been paid importation tax by Dinlas and that private hospitals had begun advertising the fact that they were disbursing the said vaccine. On the 7th of April 2021, the Star reported that Dinlas had instructed its advocates to write a demand letter to Nation Media concerning a story published on the 2nd of April that they allege adversely links the company to corruption in the health sector. The advocates for Dinlas allege that the “publication was intended and calculated to damage the reputation of our client to the advantage of other companies or business known to yourselves.” The letter demands that Nation Media retracts the story and publishes an apology within two days. Nation Media seeks to understand its options.

Can you force a newspaper to retract a defamatory story and publish an apology?

Links to the story:

https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2021-04-07-sputnik-importer-threatens-to-sue-nation-media-for-fraud-story/

https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/kenya/news/-questions-over-russian-vaccine-authorisation-as-documents-indicate-high-level-board-clearance-3339112

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