Richard Wafula v Hotel Tobriana

Complaint upheld; compensation ordered; enforcement notice issued. ODPC, 22 January 2025.

Record ID

ke-odpc-2025-0008

Case reference

ODPC Complaint No. 1708 of 2024

Jurisdiction

Kenya

Regulator

ODPC

Type

determination

Complainant

Richard Wafula

Date decided

22 January 2025

Respondent type

private

Sector

general

Violations

unauthorised image/photo use, lack of consent, commercial use of personal data, failure to respond to erasure request, unlawful processing

Provisions cited

s.25 DPA 2019, s.26 DPA 2019, s.29 DPA 2019, s.32 DPA 2019, s.37(1) DPA 2019, s.40(1)(b) DPA 2019, s.56(1) DPA 2019, s.56 DPA 2019, s.65(4) DPA 2019, s.65 DPA 2019

Outcome

complaint upheld; compensation ordered; enforcement notice issued

Compensation

KES 750,000 (≈ USD 5,810 at the decision date)

Status

final

Source

Official document ↗

Source integrity

SHA-256 acb1475b73ae1e7b…

Record verified

30 July 2026

The facts

The complainant alleged that Hotel Tobriana obtained images and videos of him, his wife and their guests during their wedding and used them in branded, personalised advertisements without consent. The respondent declined or neglected to pull the material down from its Facebook and Instagram accounts after he exercised his right of erasure, and it remained online as at the date of the determination. The ODPC found the respondent violated his right of erasure, failed to fulfil its duty to notify, and used his personal data commercially without express consent.

Orders and outcome

The respondent was directed to erase the complainant's personal data, including images and videos, from its Facebook and Instagram accounts within fourteen days of service, ordered to pay him Kenya Shillings Seven Hundred and Fifty Thousand (KES 750,000) as compensation, and an enforcement notice was issued. Dated 22 January 2025.

CONSENT · GENERAL · RIGHT-TO-ERASURE · UNLAWFUL-PROCESSING · UPHELD

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