JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
On 29th October 2012 the High Court at Nairobi, (Odunga, J.) dismissed a preliminary objection raised by the three appellants, The Standard Ltd (the publisher of the Standard and Standard on Sunday newspapers), and its two employees/journalists, Ben Agina and David Ohito, in which they contended that the High Court did not have jurisdiction to entertain a defamation claim against them because of the freedom of the media guaranteed by Article 34(2) of the Constitution.
Aggrieved by the ruling, they filed the appeal now before us, in which they continue to argue that upon the promulgation of the Constitution on 27th August 2010, only the Complaints Commission established by the Media Council Act, 2013 has jurisdiction to entertain complaints and claims against the media.
The preliminary objection that the learned judge dismissed was provoked by a suit filed by the respondent, Dr. Christopher Ndarathi Murungaru against the appellants arising from two publications in th…