Defending your employee is something normal especially if the employee has proved to be a valuable asset to your firm. This is what citizen TV did last week as it sought to clear the air over the state of it’s relations with the then embattled journalist Jacque Maribe.
The office of the Director of Public Prosecutions had asked the high court to bar Miss Maribe from anchoring news even if she is released on bail. Did the office of the DPP already see her getting bail? I clearly can’t tell.
The DPPs office through state counsel Catherine Mwaniki argued that Maribe’s appearance on TV presenting news will water their investigations and evidence as she will influence the witnesses in the murder case.
The courts seem to have found the DPPs argument valid and has today barred the celebrated TV queen from presenting news at citizen TV or any other media house for that matter.
This is a heavy blow to Maribe who has had a stellar career in the Media with successful stints at various media stations within the country. It also comes as a blow to Citizen TV that had hoped to get her back on air as soon as possible.
The company had earlier allayed fears that it was set to sack Miss Maribe and affirmed that she is still an employee of Royal Media Services despite her tribulations with the law. RMS even said it supports Maribe’s release on bail.
On Thursday last week, RMS Managing Director Wachira Waruru in a statement said Maribe has had a clean record adding that her character over the years is not questionable.
“Having engaged her for the last six years, and assessing her performance, we hereby vouch for her character and recommend for her admission to bail,” he said.
Waruru said that Maribe had taken leave “to attend to personal issues” and further recommended that she be released as she will not jump bail.
“Due to her exceptional performance she has been appointed to the position of Friday’s prime time news anchor on the station,” he said.
“She joined the company as a reporter on Citizen Television and was later promoted to the position of senior reporter on the same station. Arising from the promotion, she was assigned huge national and international events which she undertook successfully.” added Mr. Waruru.
Maribe’s lawyers led by Kagwa Kigen rejected the the bid to bar her from presenting news terming it a violation of her constitutional rights.
It seems like Justice Wakiaga was not moved by their arguments and therefore decided to slap Maribe with a ban from the TV screens.