Kenyan filmmaker David “Tosh” Gitonga has lost his bid to repay a Sh1.1 million court debt in monthly installments of Sh10,000, after the Small Claims Court found that he had not provided enough evidence to show that he could not settle the amount in full.
Adjudicator Stella Wanjiru dismissed Gitonga’s application and ordered him to pay an additional Sh7,000 in legal costs, adding another chapter to a dispute that began with editing work for his Netflix-backed series Volume.
Gitonga had asked the court to allow him to pay the outstanding amount gradually, saying declining business activity and difficult economic conditions had left him unable to raise the full sum at once.
However, the court found that he had not placed sufficient financial information on record to support that claim.
Wanjiru said an applicant seeking permission to pay a judgment debt through installments must provide material showing their financial position.
“The duty of the applicant (Tosh) therefore was to demonstrate that he was not in a position to settle the decree in a lump sum,” the adjudicator said.
The court noted that Gitonga had not disclosed his monthly income, assets and liabilities in a way that would allow it to determine whether he genuinely lacked the ability to settle the debt.
“In my considered opinion, the applicant has not met the threshold enough for the court to exercise its discretion,” Wanjiru said in dismissing the application.
The dispute traces back to Gitonga’s development of Volume, a Kenyan series that later became available on Netflix.
Gitonga, the filmmaker behind productions including Nairobi Half Life, engaged German filmmaker and picture editor Christian Kramer to provide services connected to the project.
According to the court reporting, the relevant discussions took place through electronic communications between 2022 and 2023.
Kramer claimed he was owed Sh678,403 for his work. The amount related to services that contributed to the development and promotion of Volume and helped Gitonga pursue funding for the project.
Kramer subsequently pursued payment through the courts after the filmmakers disagreed over whether their communications created a binding agreement.
Gitonga maintained that there was no formal written contract between them.
The dispute, however, turned heavily on their WhatsApp conversations.
The Small Claims Court ultimately found that the exchanges between Gitonga and Kramer constituted a legally binding agreement.
Gitonga challenged that decision at the High Court in November 2024, arguing that he had not been properly heard and maintaining that no legally binding contract existed.
During the appeal, the High Court ordered him to deposit Sh400,000 with the court pending determination of the case.
The High Court eventually dismissed Gitonga’s appeal in 2026, upholding the lower court’s decision. The ruling left him liable for the debt, which had grown from the original Sh678,403 through interest and additional costs.
Gitonga had previously faced attempts by auctioneers to recover the money from his production company, Primary Pictures.
The recovery efforts followed the original court judgment and added further costs to the filmmaker’s outstanding obligation.
After losing his High Court appeal, Gitonga returned to the Small Claims Court seeking permission to clear the debt through Sh10,000 monthly payments.
At that rate, the principal amount alone would take more than nine years to clear, before taking into account any additional interest or costs.
Kramer opposed the application and challenged Gitonga’s account of his financial circumstances.
The German editor pointed to Gitonga’s recent film and television work as evidence that he remained professionally active.
Gitonga is one of Kenya’s established filmmakers and gained international attention after directing Nairobi Half Life in 2012.
The film became Kenya’s submission for consideration for the 85th Academy Awards, helping establish Gitonga as a prominent figure in the country’s film industry.
He has since worked on several productions, including The Wedding Planner and The First Grader, while continuing to develop projects through Primary Pictures.
His series Volume later received three nominations at the 2024 Zanzibar International Film Festival.
