Royal Media Services (RMS) has lost its bid have the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) stopped from shutting down its transmitters.
The High Court in Nairobi dismissed a case filed by the media house in February, with Lady Justice Lydia Achode saying the CCK was acting within the law in “interfering with the transmitters”, according to Business Daily.
Achode has also dismissed an argument by the media house that the magistrate who had given the regulator the orders was in contempt of court, calling the claim a “misappropriation of contempt proceedings”.
“Having carefully considered all the raised issues herein, I find the application lacks merit and I hereby dismiss the same,” she ruled.
CCK has orders to seize transmitters serving particularly Citizen Television in Embu, Taita Taveta and Muranga, while under the radio segment the regulator has warrants to seize transmitters in Mukuyuni, Narok, Nakuru, Makueni and Mabrui (Malindi).
This is not the first time the media house has lost such an application, after it failed to stop a decision to have company officials prosecuted after the CCK director general said top managers of the company would be charged in court for illegally using frequencies.
Under the Kenya Communications (Amendment) Act 2009 the media house could be fined a penalty of KSh5 million, plus including a three-year jail term for the owners.
