David Mugonyi: Hatchet man becomes new enemy of the Press

David Mugonyi, the Communications Authority (CA) Director General, made his name as a journalist. He was in the trenches covering news and analysing events. He rose through the ranks from a reporter to editor.

Courtesy of the work he did he made friends in the political circles who were sources and that is how he wormed himself to the echelons of power. Today, however, he has become the number one enemy of the media in Kenya after he ordered TV stations to stop broadcasting nationwide protests without justification. But there were telltale signs all along.

His name is now trending in all media platforms for all the wrong reasons across the world, all fueled by his ill-informed decision to shut down three national TV stations for allegedly ignoring his illegal orders on Wednesday.

Mugonyi first illegally threatened to shut down all national TV stations on Wednesday afternoon, “if they didn’t cease live broadcasting of the Gen Z protests” and indeed made good his warning by switching off the three TV stations, including Standard Group’s KTN.

The directive cited Articles 33(2) and 34(1) of the Kenyan Constitution, as well as Section 46(1) of the Kenya Information and Communications Act, 1998, warning that non-compliance could lead to regulatory actions, including suspension or revocation of broadcasting licenses and the disabling of transmission signals.

That resulted in the shutdown of signals for the three major stations after they defied the order and lawfully continued broadcasting.

The Law Society of Kenya said the order was not only illegal but also unconstitutional because it violated Article 34 of the Constitution. They condemned Mugonyi’s belligerent actions and informed him that only the Media Council of Kenya has the authority to regulate the media.

“Live broadcasts serve a crucial role in any democratic society because they prevent the spread of misinformation and rumours,” said LSK President Faith Odhiambo, who also warned that Mugonyi’s orders violated Article 29 on the right to safety of emergency and security agencies.

Several groups successfully filed different petitions in court, arguing that the shutdown was a violation of the right to freedom of expression and freedom of the media. Mugonyi had, in the previous evening, ignored Justice Chacha Mwita’s suspension of his unlawful orders.

Speaking in parliament on Thursday afternoon, Rarieda MP Otiende Amolo condemned the CAK for stopping live coverage of the protests in the face of a very clear judgment by the court.

Lawyer Kibe Mungai also told The Standard that Mugonyi cited a non-existent legal provision and disregarded a High Court ruling that stripped CAK of powers to regulate media content in 1998.

“A non-existent provision has no legal effect. That alone shows impunity. If you read the letter, no specific offence is cited. Live broadcasting is lawful and so any attempt to shut down TV stations must be properly justified, said Mungai.

As the country takes stock in the aftermath of the Gen Z protests, focus has now shifted to Mugonyi, a man who basically made his living from the media after leaving his teaching job to join the Nation Media Group as a junior reporter before rising to the position of deputy news editor in the newsroom.

Senior journalists who worked with him in his early days at the newsroom describe Mugonyi as a man who was full of energy when running around the streets of Nairobi with his pen and notebook, either on the general news beat or on assignments.

“He was always on routine assignments, be it covering demonstrations, Saba Saba riots, at city hall meetings, parliament, at fire breaks, when buildings collapsed, and other disaster areas or at the police station incidents, basically all places he was assigned when news broke out,” says a former colleague.

He later settled on reporting politics under the tutelage of veteran Njeri Rugene, the lead parliamentary reporter, and other senior journalists. At around 2002, he was deployed to cover the constitution-making process that was being undertaken by the Yash Pal Ghai-led Constitution Review Commission of Kenya (CKRC).

Mugonyi was moved to the CKRC beat to replace another veteran reporter, Chege Wa Gachamba, who had covered the initial stages of the constitution-making process before the merger between the Statutory Commission based at Hazina Towers and the Ufungamano House-based People’s Commission of Kenya, chaired by the late Dr Oki Ooko Ombaka.

He moved to CKRC coverage after they had relocated to Ken Com House, now under the management of lawyer PLO Lumumba, the new CEO who had replaced the late Okoth Owiro. As a sharp reporter, Mugonyi made friends and worked closely with colleagues from the Standard Media Group to develop his own sources among commissioners and the secretariat.

A journalist who worked with Mugonyi recounted how he frequently made calls to ask for ideas on developing stories and anything he may have missed from CKRC or indeed any exclusive content that The Standard frequently accessed for its front page stories.

Disputes among commissioners were common, largely because of political interests from powerful Kanu politicians whose intention was to frustrate the process from progressing smoothly.

It is from this background, that the media fraternity was puzzled when, a man who grew up in the profession and fed from the hand of journalism could be the man crippling it. He should know better than cabinet secretaries Kipchumba Murkomen and William Kabogo, who want to arbitrarily shut down TV stations.

He knows - and should know that colleagues in the media fraternity will accept no excuses for his excesses, just like an editor, a position he once held in the newsroom, does allow explanations for missed stories because news pages have no room for excuses.

Standard Group Chief Executive Editor Chacha Mwita has urged CAK to follow elaborate legal channels to address any concerns about media conduct, cautioning that Mugonyi’s conduct entirely bypasses those mechanisms.

“At the time of the shutdown, KTN was diligently and responsibly reporting on public demonstrations – events of critical public interest and a constitutionally protected expression of citizens’ rights,” protested Chacha.

He cautioned that the interference not only undermined KTN’s editorial independence but also deprived Kenyans of their right to access information during such a pivotal moment.

The Chief Executive Editor assured KTN viewers that The Standard Group PLC remains resolute in its mission to uphold fearless, independent and trustworthy journalism.

“We restate our commitment to serving the public while remaining true to the journalistic tenets of truth, accuracy and accountability. All these is done with responsibility,” says Chacha.

Mugonyi’s overreach is not new. On January 6, 2018, Human Rights Watch reported under the headline, Kenya: Media Barred From Opposition Event, that while serving as the then-deputy president William Ruto’s spokesman, he threatened journalist Justus Wanga of unspecified consequences.

He wanted Wanga dealt with ruthlessly for exposing differences between his boss and President Uhuru Kenyatta in the selection of the cabinet in 2013.

In 2013, while serving as the Communications Director at parliament, after leaving Daily Nation, Mugonyi remained studiously silent when journalists were rudely kicked out of the press centre that had been constructed for them by the US government at parliament buildings.

The Clerk of the National Assembly at the time, Justin Bundi, ordered media to vacate the centre and told journalists that they could only provide coverage on invitation. He then removed all computers and furniture used by the media and converted the room to MPs' use.

Mugonyi’s appointment to the CA position did not come as a surprise, given his relationship with President Ruto, which began in 2013, when the Jubilee administration took power.

Sources close to Ruto’s office at the time indicated that former Energy Cabinet Secretary Charles Keter, who was the deputy president’s close confidant and a senior official in the United Republican Party (URP), an affiliate in the Jubilee administration, lobbied for Mugonyi to get the position.

It is said the current CA boss had during his time in parliament both as a reporter and later as the communication manager, built a strong relationship with Keter and other MPs close to Ruto.

He was then joined by Emmanuel Talaam, another journalist who came from KTN, at Harambee House Annexe and later by other senior journalists, who all transitioned to State House to form the president’s communication team after Ruto won the 2022 elections.

Working in a very congested space that also included the likes of Hussein Mohammed, the spokesperson, veteran sub-editor Munyori Buku and Peter Opondo among others, Mugonyi should have been elated by his appointment to CA.

His departure also allowed Talaam to assume the position of overall team leader, a position that was not previously demarcated.

Mugonyi was appointed the Director General of the Communications Authority of Kenya on January 15, 2024, after what the chairperson Board of Directors, Mary Mungai, described as a rigorous interview process.