Nation Media Makes Appeal To Ruto In Response To Moses Kuria Attacks

The Nation Media Group (NMG) on Monday, June 19 urged President William Ruto to state his commitment to media freedom in the wake of verbal attacks on the Twin Towers, Nairobi-based media house by Trade Cabinet Secretary (CS), Moses Kuria.

In a statement, NMG further appealed to the Head of State to disassociate himself from the statements by Kuria as well as his allies, warning that repeated remarks against the Kenyan media risk ruining his government's image.

The media house further demanded that the CS retract his statements and issue an immediate apology, calling upon all stakeholders to take appropriate action against what it termed as attacks on Kenyans' rights.

"We at NMG wish to reaffirm our commitment to relentlessly uphold media freedoms and fiercely guard our role as the public watchdog. We demand an immediate apology and a retraction from CS Kuria.

"We call upon the courts, the general public, media organisations and the international community to reject, condemn and take stern, appropriate action against these attempts to abrogate the rights of Kenyans," stated the media house.

The CS was also advised to use the necessary channels to address his grievances regarding media coverage in the country, including filing complaints with the institutions and making use of the courts to address his case.

"There are already established complaint mechanisms within NMG and in law, including filing complaints with the Nation's Public Editor or the Media Council of Kenya's Media Complaints Commission respectively.

"Moses Kuria should publicly disclose his specific grievances against NMG's journalism and go ahead to officially file his complaints with any of the established institutions. The Trade CS also has the option of prosecuting his case in a competent court of law instead of maligning a law-abiding media house in public rallies and social media posts," added the statement.

While condemning the CS's unprovoked attack against the media house in a public address as well as on Twitter on Sunday, June 19, NMG termed his vow that he would not allow any government agency to advertise in the Nation as one that essentially declared a commercial war on the media house.

NMG had connected his attacks against the media house to a report that claimed that Ksh6 billion in oil funds were abused through botched tenders issued by the Trade and Agriculture ministries, Kuria's docket.

"It is not the first time that CS Kuria is pouring vitriol against Nation, and the media in general. At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, he urged the public to shun buying newspapers as a way of keeping the virus at bay.

"He is also on record as having used an expletive on a Nation journalist on live television during his tenure as Gatundu South MP," added NMG.

The media company termed his verbal attack using foul and crude language as shocking, primitive and inexcusable in the eyes of level-headed Kenyans who expect cabinet secretaries to conduct themselves with decorum befitting their high offices.

NMG also noted that the attack constitutes a serious violation of Chapter Four of the Bill of Rights, particularly the freedom of the press, adding that the attacks on media have been sustained since the Kenya Kwanza government took office.

The media house went on to remind CS Kuria that he has no power to demand government officials to cease placing adverts on NMG, lest they risk losing their jobs.

"We would like to believe that Moses Kuria's statement seeking to intimidate government agencies from placing advertisements with NMG does not represent government policy. We also wish to remind CS Kuria that he has no legal powers to make such a sweeping declaration.

"Such statements amount to pressure on civil servants that erodes the integrity of public debate, placing at risk, unfairly and directly, the media freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution. No government should weaponise taxpayer's funds at its disposal to punish media for exposing public ills in a bid to influence editorial integrity," added the statement.

NMG joined a consortium of media organizations such as the Media Council of Kenya (MCK), the Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ) and the Kenya Editors' Guild (KEG) in calling upon President Ruto to whip CS Kuria to order after he was accused of discrediting the country's media.

KUJ had asked Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua to tame the runaway habits of his allies with the same zeal, vigour and passion he portrayed in his fight against illicit brew, drug and substance abuse. 

However, DP Gachagua on Monday, June 19 claimed that NMG had accused President Ruto of inflating the foreign tour budgets from previous administrations without verifying the information.

I don't understand these people (journalists) sometimes. They complain that you are travelling too much and at the same time, they complain that I'm not travelling- DP Rigathi Gachagua#ViralVideos pic.twitter.com/bw2uR7HcJg — Viral Tea Ke (@ViralTeaKe) June 19, 2023