Raila Slams Chiloba's Threat To Shut Down 6 TV Stations
Odinga further stated that the action was a means of reigniting a dictatorial regime...
Marvin Chege 
Azimio leader Raila Odinga on Thursday, March 23 hit out at Communications Authority (CA) Director General, Ezra Chiloba's letter cautioning media houses against broadcasting some scenes during the coalition's mass protests.
Speaking during a media briefing in Nairobi on Thursday, March 23, Raila termed the move to limit media coverage in the mass protests by six TV stations initially red-flagged by Chiloba as an attack on press freedoms and a toxic agent to the media's role in enhancing democracy.
Odinga further stated that the action was a means of reigniting a dictatorial regime, arguing that the move by the CA to censure the press was a means of avoiding accountability by members of the public.
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna joins Azimio's mass action protests in Nairobi on Monday, March 20, 2023. /FILE
Nonetheless, the former Prime Minister vowed to stand in solidarity with the media houses listed in Chiloba's letter in fulfilling their mandate of informing the nation.
“Mr Ezra Chiloba the DG of CAK issued an illegal directive censoring the media and threatening sanctions for their truthful reporting on our demonstrations," Odinga stated.
"With this action, Mr Ruto is opening the full dictator’s playbook to kill Kenya’s democracy. We in Azimio cannot allow Ruto to take us to the dark days of yesterday."
Chiloba came under fire from members of the public and the Fourth Estate hours after he threatened to withdraw the licenses of six (6) local TV stations over the coverage of the Azimio protests on March 20.
On Thursday, March 23, Katiba Institute- a rights lobby group, wrote to Chiloba putting pressure on him to revoke his letter on Wednesday, March 22 accusing Citizen TV, NTV, K24, national broadcaster KBC, TV47 and Ebru TV of violating the Programming Code during their live coverage of the Azimio protests majorly in Nairobi and Kisumu.
"We demand that within the next 24 hours, you revoke the unconstitutional communication, give us copies of the letters sent to the six media houses, and give us minutes and recordings of the Authority meeting at which you made this unconstitutional decision," the letter added.
Katiba Institute had further termed Chiloba's actions as a reminder of the time of state-sponsored censorship and a presumption that the Kenyan public is not adult enough for the marketplace of ideas, hence his prior censorship of live TV broadcasts.
At the same time, Raila called off his earlier boycott of The Star newspaper after consultations with stakeholders.
"Following consultations with stakeholders, we have agreed to call off our boycott of The Star Newspaper. We have filed a complaint with the MCK on the paper’s biases," he stated.
Raila was previously in the middle of outrage from various corners, majorly in the media industry after he ordered his supporters on Tuesday, March 21 to boycott several products and services, including the national newspaper under Radio Africa Group.
On the same day, an editorial piece in The Star newspaper accused the Azimio leadership of organising protests based on the coalition's quest for electoral justice and poked holes into the evidence it presented during the election petition.
The Media Council of Kenya (MCK), the Kenya Editors' Guild (KEG), the Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ), the Political Journalists Association of Kenya (PJAK) and Radio Africa all hit back at Raila's comments which singled out the daily newspaper as among corporates that "have become enablers and facilitators of this brutal regime" and have as such "become the enemies of the people", despite earlier commending the media for its coverage of the March 20 protests.
