In a ruling delivered on July 2, 2026, Justice F. Gikonyo dismissed Nation Media Group's application seeking to set aside the arbitral award and instead allowed AL IS ON Production Limited's application for recognition and enforcement, effectively adopting the award as a judgment of the court.
The dispute arose from a collaboration agreement signed on May 19, 2011, under which AL IS ON Production produced 295 episodes of the television series Mali, formerly known as Divide and Rule, for broadcast across East Africa.
Under the agreement, Nation Media Group had exclusive control over commercial advertising aired during the programme.
Court records show that the production company questioned the broadcaster's accounting after discovering advertisements aired during the programme while receiving reports reflecting only sponsorship revenue from Nivea.
AL IS ON Production argued that revenue from other advertisements, sponsorships, product placements and spot buys had not been disclosed.
To verify its concerns, the company hired independent assessors, Ipsos Limited and Reelforge Systems Limited, whose findings reportedly revealed significant discrepancies between Nation Media Group's reported earnings and the actual advertising revenue generated during broadcasts between 2013 and 2016.
The dispute was referred to arbitration under the parties' agreement, with advocate Allen Waiyaki Gichuhi appointed sole arbitrator in October 2015. During the proceedings, the arbitrator issued several orders directing Nation Media Group to produce reconciliation logs, invoices and records showing revenue earned from advertisements aired alongside the programme.
The parties later agreed to appoint an independent expert to audit advertising spots aired before and during broadcasts of Mali on NTV Kenya, NTV Uganda and QTV between 2011 and 2016. The expert produced several reports that were examined during the arbitration.
In the final award issued on March 21, 2025, the arbitrator found that Nation Media Group had breached the agreement by failing to provide complete records of revenue generated from commercial airtime despite repeated demands and peremptory orders issued during the arbitration.
The arbitrator awarded AL IS ON Production Kshs320 million, equivalent to approximately Shs9.1 billion. The award comprises the principal claim, the costs of independent assessors, arbitration costs, taxed costs and accrued interest.
Nation Media Group challenged the award before the High Court, arguing that the arbitrator failed to fairly consider its case, ignored relevant evidence, violated its constitutional right to a fair hearing and issued an award contrary to Kenya's public policy.
The company further argued that the arbitrator failed to give adequate reasons for rejecting its evidence and improperly relied on the independent expert's findings while overlooking its submissions.
However, Justice Gikonyo found that the arbitrator had adequately considered the evidence presented by both parties and had provided sufficient reasons for the conclusions reached.
The judge observed that the arbitrator identified the issues in dispute, reviewed the parties' submissions and evaluated the documentary evidence before making the final determination.
Quoting the arbitral award, Justice Gikonyo noted the arbitrator's finding that, "The Respondent had exclusive control over broadcasting of the series, which included the advertisements that would air during the commercial airtime. This encompassed decisions regarding broadcast days, time allocation, content type, and advertisement duration."
The court also cited another key finding in which the arbitrator stated: "The Respondent failed to disclose to the Claimant any information regarding the utilization of the Commercial Airtime or duly account for the revenues generated, despite a formal demand having been made."
Justice Gikonyo agreed with the arbitrator's decision to draw an adverse inference against Nation Media Group after it failed to comply with orders requiring the production of financial records.
The court held that the broadcaster had failed to demonstrate bias, unfairness or procedural irregularity that would justify setting aside the award.
Justice Gikonyo ruled that Nation Media Group had not established any of the statutory grounds under Section 35 of Kenya's Arbitration Act, including lack of impartiality, denial of a fair hearing or conflict with public policy.
The application to set aside the award was therefore dismissed.
The court subsequently allowed AL IS ON Production Limited's application under Section 36 of the Arbitration Act, recognising the arbitral award as binding and directing that it be enforced as a judgment of the court, bringing to a close a dispute that had lasted for more than a decade.
The ruling comes weeks after Nation Media Group's Ugandan operations were shut down following a security operation on June 28, 2026. Security personnel sealed the company's offices in Namuwongo and at Kampala Serena Hotel, while NTV Uganda, Spark TV, KFM, Dembe FM and the Daily Monitor were taken off air or suspended from publication pending government investigations.
The shutdown, which the government said was prompted by national security concerns, has attracted criticism from local and international press freedom organisations. Although discussions between the Uganda Communications Commission, security agencies and Nation Media Group's leadership have taken place, the broadcaster's Ugandan outlets remain closed pending the outcome of the investigations.