Former Olympic long-distance champion Vivian Cheruiyot, a journalist, and a media house have been ordered to pay former marathoner Abraham Kipkosgei Chelang’a KSh 3.7 million in a defamation case. Iten Senior Principal Magistrate Charles Kutwa ruled in Chelang’a’s favor, stating that he had successfully proven his case against Cheruiyot, Eldoret-based Standard newspaper writer Stephen Ruto, and the Standard Media Group.
The case stemmed from a story published between February 10th and 16th, 2023, in *The Nairobian* and on the Standard Media Group’s website. In the story, Cheruiyot accused Chelang’a of disrupting her marriage and influencing her husband negatively. She also claimed that Chelang’a had leaked information to her husband’s estranged wife, a former Kenyan international marathoner now working for the Prisons Service.
Magistrate Kutwa ruled that KSh 3 million would be for general damages, KSh 500,000 for aggravated damages, and KSh 200,000 in lieu of an apology. Kutwa explained, “I have, in awarding this sum, considered that the defendants did not republish the defamatory story concerning the plaintiff in any of their subsequent publications.” Additionally, the court awarded Chelang’a the costs of the suit, along with interest on the damages and costs at court rates until full payment.
Chelang’a had initially sought KSh 6 million for general damages and KSh 2 million for aggravated damages, claiming that the defendants acted with malice and intended to harm his reputation. He argued that the defamatory words suggested he was corrupt, a pimp, a thief, and a conman, leading to a damaged reputation both locally and abroad. Chelang’a said that as a result of the publication, his character and credibility were severely harmed, and many people had begun to avoid him.
