Kenyan filmmaker David “Tosh” Gitonga, the director of Nairobi Half Life, has lost his bid to settle a court debt of approximately KSh1.1 million through monthly payments of KSh10,000.

The Small Claims Court dismissed Gitonga’s application after finding that he had not presented sufficient evidence to prove that he was financially unable to clear the amount in full. Adjudicator Stella Wanjiru further ordered the filmmaker to pay KSh7,000 in legal costs.

Gitonga had argued that declining business activity and challenging economic conditions had affected his ability to raise the full amount at once. He therefore asked the court to allow him to make smaller monthly payments.

However, German filmmaker Christian Kramer, the creditor in the case, opposed the proposal. Kramer pointed to Gitonga’s recent film and television projects, arguing that the filmmaker had the capacity to meet the financial obligation.

The dispute traces back to work Kramer undertook while developing Gitonga’s Netflix-backed series Volume. Kramer claimed he was owed KSh678,403 for services rendered during the project.

Gitonga had disputed the existence of a formal written agreement. However, courts found that exchanges between the two filmmakers through WhatsApp amounted to a legally binding agreement.

The Small Claims Court subsequently awarded Kramer KSh678,403. The amount has since increased to approximately KSh1.1 million due to accrued interest and auctioneers’ fees.

The filmmaker had also previously faced efforts by auctioneers to recover the outstanding amount from his production company.

In the latest development, the High Court upheld the earlier judgment, leaving Gitonga liable for the outstanding debt.

The rejection of the proposed KSh10,000 monthly instalment plan means Gitonga will have to comply with the existing judgment rather than the payment arrangement he had sought.

The case highlights the growing role of digital communications in commercial disputes, with the courts recognising the filmmakers’ WhatsApp exchanges as evidence of a binding agreement despite the absence of a conventional written contract.