{"id":447421,"date":"2011-06-24T21:23:23","date_gmt":"2011-06-24T21:23:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/06\/24\/if-there-were-such-a-noun-as-actionable-it-would-relate-to-law-on-libel-and-slander\/"},"modified":"2011-06-24T21:23:23","modified_gmt":"2011-06-24T21:23:23","slug":"if-there-were-such-a-noun-as-actionable-it-would-relate-to-law-on-libel-and-slander","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/06\/24\/if-there-were-such-a-noun-as-actionable-it-would-relate-to-law-on-libel-and-slander\/","title":{"rendered":"If There Were Such a Noun As Actionable, It Would Relate to Law On Libel And Slander"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Philip Ochieng<\/p>\n

24 June 2011<\/p>\n

\n

opinion<\/p>\n

Nairobi \u2014 A member of our taskforce bewildered me when he demanded that we make only actionable recommendations.<\/p>\n

Only in context, later on, did I see his point. He wanted recommendations that can be acted upon, that is to say, that can be implemented. I agree.<\/p>\n

For if our ideas are unrealistic, too idealistic and utopian, our report is likely to decompose on someone’s bookshelves (undergoing what Marx called “the criticism of mice”). In that case, we cannot blame minister Sam Ongeri and permanent secretary James ole Kiyiapi — two public officials already so beleaguered.<\/p>\n

It stands to reason. If a proposal can be put to action, it should be actionable. But that is an appeal to logic which cannot lie. For logic and grammar do not always see eye to eye.<\/p>\n

Although the adjective actionable really exists, it is not synonymous with the adjectives realistic, feasible and practical or practicable.<\/p>\n

Actionable is a legal adjective.<\/p>\n

It qualifies any material (uttered or written) which — as my dictionary says — contains “…reasonable grounds for legal action…” What is a “legal action”? The answer: It is a lawsuit, a court case, a piece of litigation, a legal complaint (or just “plaint”).<\/p>\n

Literally, then, actionable means “meriting legal action”, that is to say, capable of being taken to court or meriting judicial arbitration.<\/p>\n

I know many lawyers here in Nairobi who spend a great part of their morning time going through the newspapers with a toothcomb, hoping to lay their hands on actionable material on wealthy individuals.<\/p>\n

They then telephone such individuals with the offer to represent them in court. But it is not wise to mention the size of the fee immediately. Between you and me and the doorpost, however, the size will approach the Kilimanjaro. Money greed has turned even our most learned friends into shoats and caterpillars.<\/p>\n

In short, then, if there were such a noun as actionable, it would relate, in particular, to the law on libel, slander and defamation. In Kenya — since our criminal code is wholly British (and nobody has seen the need to “Africanise” it) — libel is the publication of a statement which potentially damages someone’s reputation.<\/p>\n

I say British because the American counterpart of that penal rubric contains a certain leeway of reportage and commentary which allows media to get away with vile nominal murder.<\/p>\n

A statement is libellous because (a) it is false (according to the litigant) and (b) it has appeared in a permanent medium.<\/p>\n

Such media include books, newspapers, radio, television, video, the Internet and such art forms as painting and sculpture. And, unless the defendant adduces evidence (usually documentary) to prove his innocence, he may pay the litigant quite a wad (with which to buy back his reputation!)<\/p>\n

The only reason I staunchly support that law is that, without it, in a society like ours — whose morality is so actionable (in The Hague) — businessmen would cook up and publish all kinds of lurid stories with which to “finish” their rivals.<\/p>\n

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Original post:
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Philip Ochieng 24 June 2011 opinion Nairobi \u2014 A member of our taskforce bewildered me when he demanded that we make only actionable recommendations. 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