Editors Tell Off President Uhuru for Threatening to Shut Down Media Houses if they Cover Raila's Swearing-in
The Kenya Editors Guild has condemned threats by the state that it will shut down media houses if they air Tuesday's controversial swearing-in of opposition leaders Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka.
In a statement issued by chairman of Kenya Editors Guild, Linus Kaikai, the editors condemned the summoning of managers from mainstream media by President Kenyatta at State House in Nairobi.
“We have just learnt today that on Friday last week, a section of media managers and select editors from the main media houses were quietly summoned to a meeting at the State House, Nairobi,” says Mr. Kaikai.
“The brief meeting attended by President Uhuru Kenyatta, Deputy President William Ruto, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi, ICT Secretary Joe Mucheru and AG Githu Muigai did not bode well for the freedom of expression and press in the country,” added Kaikai.
Noting that the media is not biased in its coverage, the editors opposed the “dressing down the media executives received at the State House meeting."
“At the meeting, President Kenyatta expressly threatened to shut down and revoke the licences of any media house that would broadcast live the planned purported swearing in of NASA leaders Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka on Tuesday. That direct threat has subsequently been echoed, off record by other senior members of government,” read the stern statement.
"We would like to state it with all the clarity we can that the media is not an actor in the ongoing contest between Jubilee and NASA over the outcome of the last General Election. The Media remains a mere messenger and a chronicler of any events happening in our country."
"Consequently, the Editors Guild condemns and rejects the threats and purported instructions issued at the State House on Friday. We call on all media houses and journalists to carry on their work diligently and to report impartially on all matters of public interest," said the editors.