Ruto's administration joins past regimes' efforts to muzzle media

Repressive practices of the past regimes have reemerged following President William Ruto’s decision to illegally switch off three media stations; KTN K24 and NTV not to cover Gen Z protests.

Although past governments have attempted to muzzle the media through various forms such as legal restrictions, shutting them down, controlling media content and funding, stakeholders in the media industry have accused the Kenya Kwanza administration of being the worst, making it extremely difficult for media houses and practitioners to operate.

Prior to his election, Ruto branded Kenyan media houses as pro-Azimio La Umoja coalition, a political grouping which was headed by his 2022 Presidential candidate rival Raila Odinga and opted for social media influencers to advance his political agenda. During his inauguration, he almost locked out local broadcasters insisting that their candidate had lost.

In March this year, former ICT Principal Secretary Edward Kisiangani cancelled Standard Media Group’s media contract with the Ministry of Irrigation to run a campaign for the launch of the National Irrigation Sector Investment Plan (NISIP) due to ‘its critical coverage in a move that attracted public uproar.

Other media houses that had been selected to carry out the campaign include Nation Media Group (NMG), The Star, Cape Media, and government broadcaster Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC).

 “Please note that, following administrative advice, the inclusion of Standard Media Group has been cancelled,” the letter, signed by Michael Okidi on behalf of PS Kisiang’ani, stated.

The contract for the deal was signed on March 13, 2025.

As Kisiangani canceled the deal, the court battles between the government and Standard Media Group, Nation Media Group and People Daily over yet another cancellation of contract to distribute MyGov, a government publication, in a case filed by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) was raging on.

Then came Gen-Z protests to commemorate their colleagues who were killed by police during last year’s anti-finance protests.

The government, in a brazen disregard for the rule of law and issued a directive barring three major TV stations — KTN, NTV and K24 — from broadcasting the protests live

Although the directive was swiftly suspended by Justice Chacha Mwita in a case filed by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), who termed the action unlawful and unconstitutional, the government did not immediately honour the court order and only did so the day that followed.

Katiba Institute and the Kenya Human Rights Commission warned that such gag orders dangerously weaken democratic accountability and create a climate in which police violence can flourish unchecked.

“Media freedom and the right to protest are pillars of Kenya’s democracy. Gagging the press violates not only media rights but also the public’s right to know and hold power accountable,” they said in a joint statement.

The Interior Cs Kipchumba Murkomen has not only defended their decision to switch off tv stations but has also announced that he would ban the tvs and go against the court order in a clear show of contravention of his oath of affirmation.

 “I can suffer a court order; I can pay for a court order but I can’t pay for the people’s lives if they die and I can’t return back to the nation. I would rather appear before a judge in a still working country and explain why I made a particular decision than to doubt myself and say I can’t make a decision and then tomorrow there is no country there is not even a judge to appear before,” he said.

Ironically, the person at the helm of the Communication Authority of Kenya, David Mugonyi, who quoted nonexistent laws while okaying the move to switch off the media houses was once in the media industry who started off as a reporter and rose through the ranks to senior editorial roles at the Nation Media Group.

The decision by the CA was met with wrath and condemnation by the stakeholders in the industry such as the Kenya Editors Guild, Kenya Union of Journalists, Media Council of Kenya, among others.

"It is the action of a regime more interested in control than accountability, more invested in secrecy than transparency, and more determined to suppress questions than provide answers," Kenya Editors Guild said in a statement.

The Kenya Kwanza administration’s switching off signals mirrored the 2018 incident when the government switched off signals of NTV, Citizen TV and KTN News as a result of airing an event where Raila Odinga swore himself as Peoples’ President at Uhuru Park.

Two TV stations NTV and KTN were, however, switched back on air after 7 days of a government-enforced shutdown. Citizen TV and its sister vernacular Inooro TV stations were restored on air after ten days of shutdown.

The shutdown remained effective despite the High Court order requiring the Communications Authority of Kenya to switch the affected stations back on air with immediate effect.

With utter disregard of the law, the government never bothered to explain why they had not complied with the order. Instead, the Ministry of Interior, one of the parties named in the order, said the government could appeal since their representatives had not been present at the court hearing where the order was issued.

In July 2017, then CS  for ICT, Joe Mucheru threatened to shut down any media house that defied the government order not to release parallel presidential results, in an effort to curtail media freedom.

The late Francis Wangusi who was at the helm of the Communication Authority then presided over the actions despite his specialty in telecommunication.

He held a Master’s degree in Space Sciences with specialisation in Satellite Communications from the International Space University, France; a BSc in Telecommunications Engineering from the University of Rome, Italy and a Chartered Engineer Part II Certificate from the Institute of Electronics Engineering, UK.

He also holds a Global Executive Master’s Degree in Business Administration (GEMBA) from the United States International University (USIU).

Earlier in 2015, the Authority shepherded the switchover from analogue to digital television broadcasting, making Kenya among the first countries in Africa to meet the global deadline of 17 June 2015. The landmark initiative was riddled with a series of litigation and use of force by the government to the media industry.

In yet another attempt to cripple media houses, the government in 2018 decided to stop advertising in local commercial media with the State departments and agencies being directed to advertise in the government newspaper and online portal My.Gov.

And in 2023, then Trade and Investment CS Moses Kuria issued a directive to government agencies against placing an advert with the Nation Media. “Nation Media, you must now decide whether you are a newspaper, broadcasting house, media house or a political party. I have said, from tomorrow, from today even; any government department found placing advertising in Nation Media Group, consider yourself out (of government).”

In the same year, then Director General of the Communications Authority of Kenya Ezra Chiloba was at the center of a major media censorship controversy.

The controversy arose after the CA, under Chiloba’s, censured six TV stations—Citizen TV, NTV, K24, KBC, TV47, and Ebru TV—for their live coverage of opposition (Azimio) demonstrations. Chiloba accused these broadcasters of violating the Programming Code, claiming their coverage depicted scenes that could incite panic, threaten peace, or incite the public.

This was despite Chiloba's rich curriculum vitae as he holds an MSc (Distinction) in Major Programme Management (MMPM) from the University of Oxford (UK) and an MA (Distinction) in Public Policy (MPP) from the Central European University (Hungary). He is a Law graduate from the University of Nairobi and admitted to the Roll of Advocates of the High Court in Kenya

The High Court later overturned Chiloba’s decision, ruling that it was illegal and violated Article 47 of the Kenyan Constitution, which guarantees fair administrative action.

The court found that the affected TV stations were not allowed to be heard before being censured, and that the Programming Code cited by Chiloba was not properly gazetted and had expired, thus lacking legal force.

Furthermore, the court determined that the media coverage did not violate any of the four legitimate speech limitations under Article 33: propaganda for war, hate speech, incitement to violence, or advocacy for hatred.

Political analysts opine that despite robust legislation in Kenya, media freedoms have been constantly curtailed by respective administrations  keen to use media as a tool  to control, shape and propagate their narratives.

Prof Gitile Naituli said the government has always wanted to impose legal restrictions by introducing legislation that could limit media freedom, such as the Security Amendment Act 2014 and the Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Bill.

“The 2010 Constitution underscores the importance of media freedom in Article 34. The Constitution further provides that the State shall not interfere with the functioning of the media or penalize the media for opinions expressed, but the government has contravened their oath of office and tried to muzzle the media industry,” he said.