Mixed reaction to Biwott libel award

There's been a mixed reaction in Kenya to the record libel damages awarded by a high court yesterday to a prominent cabinet minister, Nicholas Biwott.

Mr Biwott was awarded thirty-million Kenyan shillings, equivalent to almost four-hundred thousand dollars, against the publishers of a book which made allegations about him in relation to the 1990 murder of Robert Ouko, who was then Kenyan foreign minister.

Responding to the ruling, the chairman of the Law Society of Kenya, Gibson Kamau Kuria, described the damages as excessive and said they were aimed at frustrating freedom of expression.

For the Kenya Media Owners Association, Wilfred Kiboro said the ruling would intimidate publishers.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service