Press Release
Sarah Hermitage Libel Defence Upheld
Silverdale
Farm Blog Justified
At the High Court in London
today, Mr Justice Bean delivered Judgment in favour of Sarah Hermitage, who had
been sued for libel by the wealthy Tanzanian businessman, Reginald Mengi, the
Executive Chairman of IPP Ltd, a company which holds major newspaper and
broadcasting interests in Tanzania.
Reginald Mengi sued in respect of five postings on Sarah
Hermitage’s Silverdale Farm blog and two emails she had sent, which Mr Mengi
claimed to be false and defamatory of him.
During the trial, the Court heard unchallenged evidence from
Sarah Hermitage and her husband, Stewart Middleton, as to how they were by
threats, intimidation and corruption driven from Tanzania and forced to abandon
the investment they had made in their farm, Silverdale, of which Reginald
Mengi’s younger brother, Benjamin, then took possession. The Court was told
that a major factor in the ordeal they suffered was the hostile and defamatory
coverage their case received from the IPP-owned English language Guardian and the Swahili Nipashe newspapers. Reginald Mengi, in
the course of his evidence, repeatedly stated that he “was not responsible, not accountable and not
answerable” for the editorial content of IPP publications.
In giving Judgment, Mr Justice Bean ruled:
“I find that the campaign in
the Guardian and Nipashe facilitated Benjamin’s corruption of local officials
and intimidation of the Middletons and thus helped Benjamin to destroy their
investments and grab their properties; and that Mr [Reginald] Mengi, since he
either encouraged or knowingly permitted the campaign, was in that sense
complicit in Benjamin’s corruption and intimidation. The allegation is thus
substantially true, and justified at common law.”
Following the handing down of the Judgment, Sarah Hermitage said
today:
“I set up my Silverdale Farm
blog in 2009 to document our horrific experience in Tanzania, and to expose as a
warning for others the corruption we encountered and our helplessness with no
protection from the local Courts and officials. As the Judge has found, my
response to the campaign waged against us in IPP publications was reasonable,
proportionate, relevant and without malice. To find myself then sued for libel
in my own country, facing a claim of legal costs of £300,000 from Mr Mengi
before the proceedings had even started, was itself frightening and
oppressive. I am relieved that, with the support of my legal team who were
prepared to risk getting paid nothing at all under a “no win, no fee”
agreement, justice has in the end prevailed in this case. I also must thank the
brave and honest Tanzanian journalists who either openly or privately assisted
in the preparation of our defence. I will continue to use my blog, my voice, to
do all I can to fight against the corruption I have seen first hand in
Tanzania, not least in the hope that it may in the end help the very good
people, not least our loyal staff, who have stood by us throughout.”
After handing down judgment Mr Justice Bean ordered that
Reginald Mengi should pay the defence costs at the higher “indemnity” rate. In
reaching this decision, the factors cited by the Judge included that Counsel
for Sarah Hermitage had “rightly described
the litigation as “oppressive”, that “enormous costs had been thrown at the case from the beginning, indeed
before the issue of proceedings” and that the evidence of the
Claimant and his witnesses had in a number of respects been “misleading and untrue.”
Mr Justice Bean ordered that Reginald Mengi should pay
£1.2million on account of Sarah Hermitage’s legal costs, which will be subject
to detailed assessment by the court in due course.
Enquiries to Andrew Stephenson,
Carter-Ruck, Tel: 020 7353 5005
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