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By Spy Uganda
The High Court in Kenya has dismissed a bid by Nation Media Group (NMG) to block the enforcement of a KSh320 million arbitration award in favour of Al Is On Production (AIOP), bringing to a close an 11-year legal battle over advertising revenue generated by the hit television drama Mali.
In a ruling delivered on July 2, 2026, at the Milimani Law Courts, Justice Francis Gikonyo dismissed NMG’s application to set aside the arbitration award, describing the broadcaster’s arguments as lacking merit. The court also allowed AIOP’s application to have the award recognised and enforced as a judgment of the High Court.
The dispute dates back to a production agreement signed in May 2011, under which Al Is On Production created and produced Mali, Kenya’s first locally branded soap opera. The series aired on NTV in Kenya and Uganda, as well as the now-defunct QTV.
Under the agreement, Nation Media Group was granted exclusive rights to procure, place and broadcast commercial advertisements during the programme while sharing advertising revenue with the production company based on agreed terms.
However, AIOP later raised concerns that the broadcaster had failed to accurately account for advertising revenue generated during the show’s run. The company argued that although multiple advertisements aired during Mali, the reports provided by NMG reflected sponsorship income from only one advertiser, Nivea.
To verify the figures, Mali creator and AIOP founder Alison Ngibuini commissioned independent assessments by Ipsos Limited and Reelforge Systems. The reviews reportedly revealed significant discrepancies between the broadcaster’s reported earnings and the advertising actually aired between 2013 and 2016.
After negotiations failed, the matter was referred to arbitration in October 2015. During the proceedings, the arbitrator repeatedly directed NMG to provide reconciliation logs, invoices and complete advertising revenue records. An independent expert was later appointed, with the consent of both parties, to audit advertising spots aired during the programme from 2011 to 2016.
In March 2025, the arbitrator ruled in favour of AIOP, finding that NMG had breached the production agreement by failing to provide the required financial records despite several orders. The arbitrator concluded that the broadcaster’s failure justified drawing an adverse inference against it.
The final award amounted to approximately KSh320 million, including KSh160.55 million in advertising revenue owed to AIOP, together with interest, as well as payments covering assessment costs, arbitration expenses and legal costs. However, claims for aggravated, exemplary and punitive damages were dismissed.
Nation Media Group subsequently moved to the High Court seeking to overturn the award, arguing that the arbitrator had acted unfairly, ignored its evidence and issued a decision contrary to public policy.
Justice Gikonyo rejected those arguments, ruling that the arbitrator had fairly considered the evidence presented by both parties and had provided sufficient reasons for the findings reached. The judge further held that NMG had failed to establish any procedural unfairness or legal grounds under Kenya’s Arbitration Act to justify setting aside the award.
With the court declining to interfere, the arbitration award now becomes enforceable as a judgment of the High Court, effectively ending one of the longest-running commercial disputes in Kenya’s television industry.
The case is also expected to have far-reaching implications for contractual accountability and revenue-sharing arrangements within Kenya’s film and television sector, reinforcing the courts’ support for arbitration as a mechanism for resolving commercial disputes.
, https://www.spyuganda.com/nation-media-group-loses-multi-million-court-battle-over-hit-tv-series-mali/
