Court Orders Nation Media to Pull Down 'Covid-19 Millionaires' Investigative Report

A Nairobi court has ordered the Nation Media Group (NMG) to pull down an investigative report titled 'Covid-19 Millionaires' from its social media platforms.

This comes after Megascope Limited, one of the companies mentioned in the exposé sued the media house and journalist Dennis Okari for linking it to the multi-billion-shilling Covid-19 funds' scandal at Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa).

High Court judge Joseph Sergon on Wednesday directed NMG to pull down the story from its platforms pending the hearing and determination of the case.

The report claimed that Megascope was one of the companies contracted by Kemsa to clear Covid-19 equipment donated by Chinese billionaire Jac Ma after they arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

It added that part of the medical supplies went missing after they were cleared at JKIA, a claim that Kemsa officials have since dismissed as false.

NTV further reported that the equipment was later shipped to Tanzania by road and crossed the Namanga border under tight police protection. The consignment was sold to a dozen of Tanzanian companies.

The remaining equipment was allegedly given to some private companies that later supplied them to the government at inflated prices, the report added.

The donation, which included face masks, testing kits, and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), was meant to boost Kenya's fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Through its director Richard Ngatia, Megascope Limited argues that the report has maligned the company. The matter will be mentioned on October 22nd.