The story was published after 12 people died in a grisly road accident at Nithi Bridge on the Meru-Embu highway on September 1.
In a move that could spark fresh tensions between the government and the media in Kenya, the Ministry of Information, Communications, and the Digital Economy reported People Daily to the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) on Friday, September 13 for publishing stories critical of President William Ruto and his government.
The genesis of this latest clash of heads was the newspaper’s headline “How Ruto Lies Killed Nithi 12” published on Wednesday, September 4, and though it gave a blow-by-blow account of President Ruto’s promises to fix the bridge, the headline sparked uproar within Kenya Kwanza government circles.
The feature story revealed how the Head of State in previous rallies pledged that the government would fix the bridge that had on multiple occasions been identified as a blackspot, promises that were yet to be met, hence the headline by the Mediamax Networks Limited-owned newspaper.
Accident scene at Tharaka Bridge in Tharaka Nithi on August 31, 2024. /PHOTO
The piece also detailed how Ruto had been making empty promises regardless of the budgetary constraints, and listed a number of projects that have not taken off as pledged.
The President had early last year, for example, revealed that his government had set aside funds during the 2023/24 financial year to redesign the Nithi bridge in Tharaka Nithi county, promising that it would be repaired “within six months in order to prevent people from dying.”
“I have already directed the Minister in charge of Transport to meet your governor immediately to decide whether to use the survey conducted sometime back or we come up with a new one. We have already set aside funds towards the redesign of the road to stop people from dying at the spot,” he said.
The story was published after 12 people died in a grisly road accident at Nithi Bridge on the Meru-Embu highway on September 1.
“The move is seen as an attempt to not only intimidate journalists at the publication for fact-checking the President but a threat to media freedom.
“Broadcasting and Telecommunications PS Edward Kisiangani, in a deliberate move to gag the media house, has also asked the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) to institute action against People Daily for publishing a story that criticised Ruto’s promise to repair the infamous killer Nithi bridge immediately on ascending to power,” the media house argued.
The PS had written to MCK to call for a complete restraint from the People Daily and its writers from publishing or causing to publish, “similarly contemptuous articles about the presidency, or other government offices.”
Kisiangani had earlier met the Mediamax Network Ltd chief executive Ken Ngaruiya and People Daily Managing Editor Emeka-Mayaka Gekara to discuss the issue where the two maintained the story was balanced, accurate and fair.
MCK’s Complaints Commission wrote to People Daily to respond in writing within 14 days and the complaint is listed for mention on September 26.
The gag demand followed the story which the ministry condemned, claiming it was meant to discredit President Ruto and also to depict him as an “unreliable person with a penchant for telling lies”.
In the complaint to MCK, Kisiangani wrote: “This office seeks your intervention to institute any further action against the publishers of this article, in line with the existing laws and regulations that may serve as a deterrent measure against future similar journalistic misbehaviours.”
Exactly two years since President Ruto took power, elements within his government have been boldly targeting media houses for their reporting calling out the misgivings of the Kenya Kwanza government.
In turn, government actions such as diverting all its advertising to state-owned Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) and awarding a tender to The Star newspaper to circulate and print MyGov which houses all its print media adverts have financially crippled media houses, forcing them to embark on drastic decisions which have led to massive job losses in the media sector.
