Woman awarded Sh 3 Million after being mistaken for a prostitute

ruby orimba

June 6, 2018 12:50 PM

A security guard stopped her because she was not in the company of a man.

The Intercontinental Hotel in Nairobi has been ordered to pay Ms Winfred Clarke Sh3 million as compensation for being ejected out of the hotel after being mistaken for a prostitute.

In his ruling, High Court judge Mbogholi Msagha ordered Intercontinental Hotel to pay Ms Winfred Clarke the amount as damages for defamation and being put in custody unlawfully, 20 years ago.

“The actions of the hotel amounted to great humiliation and embarrassment. She has established entitlement to damages and I hereby make an award of Sh2 million shillings against the hotel and another Sh1 million against the Attorney General,” ruled Justice Msagha.

Attorney General

Justice Mbogholi also ordered the hotel and the AG, whom Ms Clarke had sued, to pay for the costs of the suit as well as interest.

The alleged incident occurred on March 19, 1998 when Ms Clarke went to the said hotel intending to have a drink with a friend. A security guard stopped her because she was not in the company of a man.

Nevertheless, she proceeded to the restaurant and bar section where she ordered for two bottles of beer. She was asked to pay for a ‘cover charge’ which she did not understand and questioned the waiters about it while insisting on paying Sh 400 to settle her bill.

Morality

She told court that the waiters refused to attend to her and was described as a woman of questionable moral conduct in the presence of other customers.

Her attempts to explain that she was a respectably married woman to one Terrence Leonard James Clarke did not bear any fruit as the hotel’s Security staff evicted her out of the premise.

She also claimed that when she left the hotel to board a cab after being denied the chance to sit at the lounge, the police were instead contacted to arrest her as well as lock her up at the Central police station for two days.

ruby orimba