A middle-aged woman is set to receive a large sum of money from Sacco, a well-known thrift, when the court ordered the Sacco to pay her for using her photo without her consent.
The Meru law court ordered the Sacco to pay 1.5 million Kenya shillings for using a photo posted on Facebook for commercial gain without her consent.
When Sharon Nyaga realized that Sacco had used her photo for marketing and promotion, she took legal action after receiving multiple calls from friends and family members informing her about the Sacco calendar, in which her name is.
The Sacco admitted that they had downloaded a photo of Sharon from Facebook that she had taken during her graduation and used it on their calendar.
The Sacco put her picture on the front page of the calendar and the photo was accompanied by a promotion of a product of the Sacco, where she marketed education loans.
The new graduate approaches the financial institution, explaining to them that she was neither a member of Sacco nor that her education was financed through the unit.
She demanded financial compensation which was refused – necessitating a court case which began in the chief magistrate’s court at Meru.
Justice Patrick Otieno dismissed an appeal filed by the Sacco challenging an earlier decision of the Chief Magistrates’ Court in Meru, which had ordered him to pay 1.5 million.
The High Court observed that there was a financial benefit which the appellant was expected to obtain and obtain from the publication, which was accepted by Sacco. The use of the photograph without respect to the plaintiff was clearly a violation of the defendant’s right to privacy and dignity to be provided under Articles 31(c) and 28 of the Constitution of Kenya.
On the same note, in February 2019, a woman won Ksh1.5 in damages after a tea firm used her image on a marketing brochure without her consent. Presiding Judge Justice Lucy Gitari said the company had violated her privacy.
Kenya’s law does not have a definitive law on personality and image rights, but every person has the right to protect his or her “image” against unauthorized commercial use or exploitation by individuals or entities.
