Summary take-away

An e-mail copied to other parties in work a place may constitute defamation. A cause of libel may accrue from an email whose contents contain statements that are false and defamatory, published by the defendant in reference to the plaintiff.

Facts of the case

The plaintiff was retained by the United Nations Sacco Limited as its Chief Executive Officer. On December 31, 2015 the plaintiff resigned from employment to concentrate on his personal business. The plaintiff claimed that on or about March 9, 2016, the defendant sent him an email from his private/personal account and copied to 3 others. It was the plaintiff’s testimony that the email sent to his juniors portrayed him in bad light especially since he was a role model to many employees.

The plaintiff claimed that the email was defamatory in that in its ordinary meaning the email meant and was understood to mean that he engaged in fraudulent and unethical conduct during his tenure at the UN Sacco. The plaintiff alleged that the email published was false, malicious and defamatory and sought relief in the form of general damages, exemplary damages and costs of the suit.

Holding of the Court

The Court held that words could be defamatory even if they were believed by no one and even if they were true and that the law of libel and slander was concerned with the protection of reputation which is the estimation in which he was held by others; it did not protect a person’s opinion of himself nor his character.

The Court found that the impugned e-mail was defamatory of the plaintiff’s character. The plaintiff was being called upon to refund or pay some monies that had been paid to him in form of kickbacks. There was no explanation from the defendant as to why the email was copied to other parties yet the content was personal. The only logical conclusion was that the defendant was out to inform third parties that the plaintiff had been taking kickbacks from the Sacco’s clients. The plaintiff had proved his case on a balance of probabilities.