Govt Sued As It Switches Off 2 More TV Stations

The Katiba Institute and the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) announced that they had submitted an urgent judicial review application to the High Court.

Marvin Chege Marvin Chege
Jun 25, 2025 - 18:52 Updated: Jun 25, 2025 - 19:05
0
Govt Sued As It Switches Off 2 More TV Stations
An image of a TV station. /KENYANS.CO.KE

A lobby group has filed a court case challenging the Communications Authority of Kenya’s (CA) directive to stop the live coverage of the June 25 protests and disable free-to-air signals for KTN, NTV, and Citizen TV.

In a joint statement issued on Wednesday, June 25, the Katiba Institute and the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) announced that they had submitted an urgent judicial review application to the High Court.

“Today, Katiba Institute (KI) and the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) have filed an urgent Judicial Review Application at the High Court in Nairobi challenging the unconstitutional directive issued by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), which ordered all television and radio stations to cease live coverage of ongoing public demonstrations,” part of the statement read.

"This directive was swiftly followed by police raids on major broadcast transmission sites of Citizen TV, NTV, and KTN, leading to the unlawful shutdown of their free-to-air services. The CA threatened broadcasters with regulatory sanctions, including license revocations, should they defy the directive."

Communication Authority of Kenya (CA) headquarters in Nairobi. /FILE

In their court filing, the two organisations argued that the Communications Authority’s directive violated three fundamental constitutional rights—freedom of expression, media freedom, and the right to access information—as outlined in Articles 33, 34, and 35 of the Constitution.

They also contended that the directive breached the right to fair administrative action and due process, as guaranteed under Article 47 and the Fair Administrative Action Act.

Additionally, they noted that the move disregarded previous court rulings, including Republic v Chiloba (2023) and Kenya Union of Journalists v CAK (2024), which had declared similar actions unlawful and reaffirmed that the CAK does not have the legal mandate to regulate broadcast content—a responsibility constitutionally assigned to the Media Council of Kenya.

As a result, the lobby groups are seeking three urgent conservatory orders from the High Court: to suspend the illegal CA directive, order the immediate restoration of affected TV and radio broadcasts, and prevent any further enforcement of the directive.

"Media freedom and the right to protest are pillars of Kenya's democracy. Gagging the press violates not just media rights but also the public's right to know and hold power accountable. The Applicants call on the judiciary to act swiftly to preserve the Constitution and protect the public interest," the statement concluded.

This comes as CA also abruptly shut down the broadcast signals of K24 TV and Kameme TV under Mediamax Networks Limited.

“We wish to inform our customers that the Communications Authority (CA) switched off our K24 broadcast signal in clear violation of the Constitution and a High Court decision in relation to the coverage of live events,” the company stated.

Mediamax claimed that the shutdown was triggered by what it terms an illegal directive from the CA, which ordered media outlets to stop broadcasting live coverage of the Gen Z protest commemoration.

The media house condemned the move, calling it a direct assault on press freedom and a violation of the public’s constitutional right to access information.

“We stand advised by the High Court decision that CA has no mandate to regulate broadcast content and consider the move as an affront to press freedoms and the right of Kenyans to information by a free and independent media,” Kenneth Ngaruiya, Group CEO of Mediamax, stated.

The Kenya Editors’ Guild and the Media Council of Kenya have released official statements expressing concern that the broadcast shutdown could establish a troubling precedent, threatening media independence, particularly during politically charged periods.

Kenyans protesting in Nairobi CBD on June 25, 2025. /WANJIKU REPORTS

Tags: