Communications Authority of Kenya fights digital TV orders
What you need to know:
- CAK lawyers Fred Ojiambo and Wambua Kilonzo submitted that the Court of Appeal should have restricted itself to questions of law.
- Mr Ojiambo said that the ruling would likely open floodgates of lawsuits by other media outlets seeking to be granted digital licences.
The Communications Authority of Kenya has faulted a court decision that revoked a digital television broadcast licence it issued to a Chinese media house.
The authority told a full bench of the Supreme Court that appellate judges made a mistake when they revoked the licence issued to Pan Africa Television Network Group and instead granted another licence to a consortium led by the Nation Media Group, Standard Media Group and Royal Media Services.
CAK lawyers Fred Ojiambo and Wambua Kilonzo submitted that the Court of Appeal should have restricted itself to questions of law and not encroaching on the mandate given to other constitutional agencies.
“Their role was to decide whether the process was right or wrong but not to usurp the authority of the body mandated to issue licences. They, in the end, issued orders which have far reaching effects to organisations not party to the dispute,” said Mr Ojiambo.
The judges were wrong in ruling that the three leading media houses had a legitimate expectation to be issued with a digital television broadcast licence based on their investments, since it would give them unfair advantage over other media channels, he said.
OPEN FLOODGATES
According to the advocate, the decision was discriminative and favoured only large media houses.
He said that the ruling would likely open floodgates of lawsuits by other media outlets seeking to be granted digital licences.
“Legitimate expectations, however strong, cannot be a basis to go against the law,” said Mr Ojiambo.
On the decision that the Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) — which became the CAK — was not the right agency to issue digital licences, Mr Ojiambo submitted that the transitional clauses in the Constitution allowed it to operate before Parliament enacted new legislation.
“Reconstitution of CCK was to be done three years after the promulgation of the Constitution, with a provision for one year extension. The Appellate Court did not correctly interpret those provisions,” said Mr Ojiambo.
Hearing continues on Friday.
