Be the judge, should we remove woman’s story from YouTube?

NTV posted online a clip about a woman storming a church some three years ago to stop her common law husband from marrying another woman.

The woman now wants that clip taken down because, she says, she has “moved on” and it has become an embarrassment.

Her children are now grown and one of them saw the clip on YouTube.

“It’s not healthy for me to have to explain myself to them,” she says.

But what’s your verdict? Let’s call the woman Eleanor to save her from further embarrassment.

Eleanor admits that she created “a scandal” with her outburst at Kings Outreach Church in Nakuru on December 5, 2015.

She also admits that she invited the media to broadcast her outburst to the whole wide world.

On May 20, 2018, Eleanor sent me a request to have the clip removed. She ended her request with the words: “Thank you. Please confirm if it’s done.”

Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. The digital editor has not removed the clip and I’m not sure he will.

But I want you, the reader, to be the judge. Should the editor, as they say in the industry, “unpublish” the story? Please give reasons for your answer.

To help you judge, this is what the clip and the story capture.

ENRAGED

When Eleanor stormed the church, she was enraged, shouting, hurling insults at the pastors.

Waving a court order, she said she was married to the man in 2003 under Luo customary law, and that they had four children aged between three and 10.

She demanded the church should stop the wedding between her husband and the other woman. “But they’re saying that my marriage can’t continue because they want to marry off my husband to a member of their church and they want to lock me out. They want to let my husband wed simply because I was not married in church … Is that really right?” she says in the clip.

“When I heard the first announcement [of the wedding] I came to the church to stop it and the bishop just told me to go to court, that the church is not a court … I was actually chased from the church. So I’ve come with the media to tell the whole world what keeps happening out here.”

Now she wants all that forgotten.

So, dear reader, what’s your verdict?

I hope to publish a selection of your thoughts next week, alongside those of the digital editor.

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The disappearing act of NGO jobs con man

Thanks to our eagle-eyed readers, public editor assistant Caroline Waswa and staff at Nation Classifieds.

The man who has been advertising “NGO jobs 48k pm”, in the last few weeks has vanished. It was reader Githuku Mungai who on October 24 drew my attention to the possible fraud.

On November 1, he wrote again: “In today's Nation, the con man has changed to part-time jobs 48k.” And when Ms Waswa got in touch with Nation Classifieds, she was told they were aware of the con man following complaints from readers and his adverts were blocked. But the man kept sneaking in using different mobile numbers via the automatic SMS booking system.

“Be aware of this con man who was banned from advertising in the Nation on Tuesday this week,” Ms Waswa advises.

“Nation Classifieds are making sure the fraudulent advertisement does not come through again. If you’ve any complaint visit Nation Classifieds at Nation Centre.”

Although the business of NMG is news, it sells advertising to finance its operations.

Therefore, adverts must be ethical and truthful. But remember that although the NGO jobs con man has been smoked out and blocked, fraudsters have a way of sneaking back under different guises.

Take heed, too, of the Nation Classifieds advice that you should make appropriate enquiries “before sending money, incurring any expense or entering into binding commitment in relation to an advertisement”.

Send your complaints to [email protected]. Call or text 0721 989 264