Bullying journos in Kenya

GLOBAL Spotlight

It is an abuse of power for a government to censor views or events it does not agree with.

The media in Kenya has worked tirelessly to ensure that the country’s democratic space is safeguarded and accessible, and it has fought hard against political interference and media capture.

It is distressing that independent media stations such as Citizen TV, Inoora TV, Kenya TV Network and NTV (owned by the Nation Media Group) have been muzzled.

Only the state-owned Kenya Broadcasting Corporation and K24 were allowed to continue broadcasting. K24 is owned by Mediamax, of which the Kenyatta family are one of three shareholders.

The government’s action underlines a trend since 2013 when Kenyatta first took office.

Government officials have intimidated, harassed and threatened media organisations, individual journalists and bloggers.

Human Rights Watch has documented 17 incidents in which 23 journalists and bloggers were physically assaulted by officials or individuals aligned with the government between 2013 and 2017.

Social media has now become the only platform where Kenyans can access independent information of what is happening in the country.

If media freedom is a barometer for general freedom in any given country, then we should treat the latest developments seriously.

On Thursday, Kenya’s High Court suspended the media shutdown after media activists took the matter to court, saying the shutdown was a gross violation of the Kenyan constitution. To date the government has not complied with the court’s ruling.