| Authority: | ODPC - Kenya |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction: | Kenya |
| Relevant law: | Section 26, 29 of the Data Protection Act, 2019; Article 31 of the Constitution of Kenya |
| Type: | Complaint |
| Outcome: | Violation |
| Started: | 14 April 2023 |
| Decided: | 17 July 2023 |
| Published: | N/A |
| Fine: | N/A |
| Parties: | Isaiah Lemerketo vs. The Kenya School of Law |
| Case No.: | 0608 of 2023 |
| Appeal: | N/A |
| Original Source: | ODPC |
| Original contributor: | MZIZI Africa |
A Respondent who used a Complainant's image in promotional material without his consent was found to have breached the Complainant's rights to privacy, but the Complainant was not entitled to compensation due to the swift action taken by the Respondent to remedy the breach.
Isaiah Lemerketo (the “Complainant”) was a student at the Kenya School of Law (the “Respondent”). The Complainant's photo was taken during his graduation from the institution which was later used by the Respondent in promotional fliers that were published the Respondents social media pages and distributed physically as well. The Complainant protested against the use of his image by the Respondent averring that he had not consented to its use in that way. He also demanded for an apology from the Respondent which was not given prompting the filing of the complaint. The Complainant requested for a declaration that his rights to privacy has been violated by the Respondent and an award of Kes.5million compensation for the commercial use of his images.
The Respondent did not deny that it had used the Complainant's image in its promotional material but averred that it pulled them down as soon as the complaint was made. The Respondent also outlined the steps it has taken to improve their data protection practices.
The ODPC held that:
The Complaint was marked as resolved.
A key issue in establishing an award for compensation, was the promptness with which the offending material is pulled down to remedy the breach. The full text of the ruling is available below.