A children’s rescue home in Nakuru is at the centre of a bitter fight between two foreign officials who are wrangling over its management.
It began with questions over accounting for donor funds at Rafiki Mwema Therapeutic Centre in Nakuru and has ended up with a defamation suit pitting the centre chairperson against a director of a donor organisation—both foreign nationals.
Ms Sarah Rosborg, the director of the Rafiki Mwema Charity registered in Australia, and Ms Anne-Marie Tipper, a Briton who is the chairperson of the rescue centre, are in a legal battle before the High Court in Nakuru.
Ms Tipper has sued Ms Rosborg for defamation.
The defamation suit arose from a correspondence that Ms Rosborg made to a WhatsApp group, indicating the intention to stop funding the centre.
According to Ms Tipper, the publication was defamatory as it damaged her image and character.
She said the words used portrayed her as dishonest, corrupt, unreliable and as a person of dubious character.
“I wish to state that I blame the defendant for recklessly and maliciously issuing false statements with an intention to injure my reputation both privately and in the public domain,” Ms Tipper said.
She claimed to have founded the organisation 15 years ago out of love to provide a warm welcoming and nurturing therapeutic home for abused children.
According to Ms Tipper, attempts to have Ms Rosborg retract the statements and apologise were ignored.
Ms Tipper now wants to be compensated and awarded general damages for the defamation.
She also wants the court to issue permanent orders against Ms Rosborg to retract the statement and be barred from publishing any further defamatory statements.
Ms Rosborg, however, denied any responsibility for the allegations made by Ms Tipper and also denied having been served with the demand letter.
She further challenged the jurisdiction of the court to hear the matter and sought to have the suit struck out.
Justice Teresia Matheka on December 20 ruled that the matter was properly before it as it had allegations that were made within its territory, thus dismissing Ms Rosborg’s objection.
Rafiki Mwema is a registered Charity in Australia that provides funding for the Rafiki Mwema Therapeutic Centre in Nakuru Kenya.
The centre provides therapeutic support for abused children.
Ms Rosborg is the director of the Australia-based charity while Ms Tipper is the chairperson of the rescue centre in Kenya BY DAILY NATION