The High Court in Kampala has dismissed with costs a defamation case that former Ethics and Integrity Minister Miria Matembe had instituted against the Uganda Media Centre Director Ofwono Opondo and NBS television.
In August 2017, Matembe sued Mr. Ofwono Opondo together with NBS TV and Charles Odongotho for allegedly defaming her and her husband Nekemia Matembe while they appeared on a television talk show.
According to court documents, on July 27, 2017, Opondo appeared together with Matembe, Dr. Kizza Besigye, Nobert Mao, and Gen. Kahinda Otafiire on NBS TV’s flagship political show the Frontline to discuss the then-proposed amendment to the presidential age limit.
During the course of the debate, Hon. Matembe said that she had seen on TV Opondo enjoying cows for wealth creation and that because of the cows and what Opondo and others were eating, they were betraying Ugandans and she wondered why they should rape the constitution.
In response, Opondo stated that he was sure Hon. Matembe had suffered similar things when they said her husband Mr. Nekemia Matembe had left her and slept with house girls.
During the show, Odongotho who was the moderator of the program and the second defendant in the case asked Opondo to withdraw the statement but he declined.
Hon. Matembe threatened to sue Opondo if he didn’t withdraw the statement but still he stuck to guns and refused to withdraw prompting her to seek redress in court.
In his ruling, High Court Judge Phillip Odoki agreed with Opondo that the statements he made as set out in the plaint had been used selectively. He held that the quotation misses out on the relevant part of the statement of the 1st defendant wherein he stated that because the 2nd plaintiff based on rumors from the media, he also said what the media had said about her, which is vital in determining whether the utterances were defamatory of the plaintiffs. END