Court orders Sh60m payment in hospital defamation case
Former specialist medical doctors of the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre in chat outside the High Court, Moshi Chapter’s premises as they awaited the ruling of a case they filed in April 2005. From right is Prof Sendui ole Nguyaine, Prof Waitoky Nkya, and Prof Joseph Mlay. PHOTO | DANIEL MJEMA
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The former employees of the KCMC, namely Prof Sendui Ole Nguyaine, ProfJoseph Mlay, and Prof Watoky Nkya, however, say they were mulling over appealing the ruling following the amount the court has granted them being way below Sh500 million they demanded about a decade ago, given the depreciation of the shilling since then.
Moshi. The Tanzania High Court has ordered the Good Samaritan Foundation (GSF), which owns the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC), to pay three specialist medical doctors Sh60 million in compensation for damages committed about a decade ago.
The former employees of the KCMC, namely Prof Sendui Ole Nguyaine, ProfJoseph Mlay, and Prof Watoky Nkya, however, say they were mulling over appealing the ruling following the amount the court has granted them being way below Sh500 million they demanded about a decade ago, given the depreciation of the shilling since then.
The trio was demanding Sh500 million worth of compensation each from the GSF and Prof John Shao, the former executive director of KCMC, allegedly for the latter issuing statements that had damaged their personalities through ITV 8:00pm news bulletin on April 10, 2005.
Judge Benedict Mlingwa has, nevertheless granted them Sh20 million worth of damages plus costs of running the case each.
Prof Shao was in the news bulletin played at the court reported as saying the trio spent most of their time at the centre on performing their private clinic duties, as they gave patients from the clinics high priority than others who went to KCMC earlier.
But Prof Shao defended himself saying the report had not specifically named them because he was referring to the general practice among medical doctors at the centre.
The plaintiffs had initially filed their case against Prof Shao alone, but the defendant prayed the court to also consider implicating his employer - - GSF - - on whose behalf he was speaking.
The ruling read on behalf of Judge Mlingwa by the district registrar of the High Court, Mr Bernard Mpepo, said the case filed by the trio carried water, ordering the defendants to pay for the compensation in question.
