When a newspaper is expected to fully exercise a duty of care

On November 22 last year, Harry Thuku, a Limuru preacher, read an exciting advertisement in the Daily Nation. “PROBOX KCH 009 470k dep 200k bal in 12 months 0733245367,” the classified ad said.

What he found attractive was that he only needed to pay a deposit of Sh200,000. Then he would have wheels to enable him to serve his flock better.

So he called and a Mr Mbugua, who claimed to be an advocate, said he was acting for the owner who needed money for urgent medical treatment.

Mr Mbugua said he would draw up an agreement to transfer the car.

The following day, the advocate called. It was urgent. Somebody else badly wanted to buy the car. So Mr Thuku had better pay up if he wanted to secure it.

He was then connected to the owner of the car said to be in a hospital in Thika. Speaking in pain, the owner pleaded with Mr Thuku to immediately send Sh70,000 to the hospital so treatment could start.

To confirm the urgency of the situation, the owner handed over the phone to Henry Njoroge, who claimed to be a doctor.

Dr Njoroge told Mr Thuku the man’s life was in real danger if treatment was not started immediately.

Touched, Mr Thuku sent Sh70,000 by M-Pesa to a number that was provided. He was then told to go to the advocate’s office in Nyeri to collect the car after paying the rest of the deposit.

POLICE EFFORTS
Mr Thuku sent a total of Sh232,000 by M-Pesa to two numbers, 0706218998 (Henry Njoroge) and 0717087131 (John Karuga), his M-Pesa account printout shows.

But when he arrived in Nyeri on November 25 to collect the car the advocate was nowhere to be seen.

His phone had been switched off. This is when Mr Thuku realised he had been duped.

He reported the matter to Tigoni Police Station where he was asked to pay Sh50,000 “for the job”.

He thought that was throwing good money after bad. A friend then introduced him to a “saved” police officer at Karuri Police Station who “could do the job without asking for any payment except what you may want to give him as a thank-you”. 

But the saved policeman entered in the OB different telephone numbers from the ones he had provided him as the recipients of the money.

“You see, if I enter the correct telephone numbers my colleagues will call the numbers and demand their share of the money from the fraudsters to frustrate the investigations,” he explained.

And sure enough, some policewomen from the station called Mr Thuku to ask him about the fraud.

To cut a long story short, even the saved policeman failed to investigate the fraud.

In desperation, Mr Thuku went to the advertisements section in Nation Centre in early January this year.

Yes, the lady behind the counter told him, they had details of the advertiser but could only release the information to the police. 

NO LIABILITY

So, Mr Thuku gave up the chase. He has now accepted his losses and moved on.

But he called me this week to narrate the story so that others may not be swindled since the Nation continues to allow the fraudster to advertise.

The ad has been running regularly. This week, for example, it appeared on Tuesday and Wednesday on page 58.

It is true the Nation gives warnings on its classified pages. It advises readers to “make necessary enquiries and take advice before sending money incurring expenses or entering into binding commitments in relation to an advertisement”.

It also warns that NMG “shall not be liable for loss or damage incurred or suffered as a result of a reader accepting an invitation contained in an advertisement published in its newspapers”.

Nevertheless, NMG is expected to exercise reasonable care in publishing ads that could foreseeably defraud the public.

In such circumstances, it is expected be watchful, attentive, cautious and prudent.

In this case, one or more of its representatives were negligent. They failed to act to stop a deceptive ad.

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