The long-running legal battle between Ivory Media Limited, a subsidiary of Insignia Productions, and Standard Group PLC, the parent company of KTN television, has finally come to a close with the production house emerging victorious in a courtroom triumph that has sent shockwaves through Kenya’s entertainment industry.
The Milimani Commercial Magistrate Court ruled in favour of Ivory Media Limited, ordering Standard Group to pay Kshs 20,202,864 for breaching a license agreement to air two popular television shows, “Junior” and “My Two Wives,” on the KTN platform. The dispute centred on the broadcaster’s failure to pay license fees amounting to Kshs 13,525,320 for content that was produced, delivered, and broadcast as agreed.
The story began in October 2020 when the two companies entered into a Program License Agreement for “Junior,” followed by another agreement in January 2021 for “My Two Wives.” Under the terms of these agreements, Ivory Media Limited was to deliver four episodes of each show monthly, while Standard Group was to pay license fees quarterly within ninety days of receiving invoices. Ivory Media duly delivered all episodes as required, and Standard Group aired the programs for the agreed periods.
However, the media house failed to fulfil its payment obligations, leaving the Insignia Productions subsidiary with an outstanding debt that continued to grow despite numerous engagements and negotiated payment plans between 2021 and 2022.
When the matter proceeded to court, Standard Group filed a defence denying all allegations and claiming it was a stranger to the Agreements. This defence crumbled under the weight of evidence presented by Ivory Media Limited, which produced the original agreements bearing the company stamps of both parties and executed by top executives, including Orlando Lyomu, Group CEO of Standard Group, and Philippe Bresson, Director of Ivory Media.
The Court noted that it was inconceivable that a company would negotiate a payment plan, reconcile a statement of account, and make part-payments running into millions of shillings in respect of an agreement to which it claims to be a stranger. The Magistrate observed that email correspondence from Standard Group’s own finance department repeatedly acknowledged the outstanding balance, proposed structured payment plans, and recorded actual part-payments made.
The Court applied the legal principles of estoppel under the Evidence Act, holding that a company cannot deny a transaction executed on its behalf by an officer with ostensible authority. The evidence included internal reconciliations from Standard Group’s Legal Officer, Ms Beatrice Mumbi, which corroborated the claim and computed the expected balance at Kshs 13,525,319.84, virtually identical to the amount claimed.
The final judgment awarded Ivory Media Limited the principal sum of Kshs 13,525,320, together with interest at court rates. With interest calculated at 14% per annum over three years and assessed legal fees of Kshs 1,000,000, the total amount now stands at Kshs 20,202,864. The judgment was delivered on 13th August 2026.
