The Kenyan government infringed on the public’s right to information when it switched off news outlets that were airing Tuesday’s opposition rally in the capital Nairobi, The Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Wednesday.
“Kenyan authorities restricted media coverage at a critical moment, and violated the public’s right to information about important events,” HRW’s Africa researcher Otsieno Namwaya said.
Three of Kenya’s top local stations, all privately owned, were taken off air by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) after they began televising Raila Odinga’s rally held at Uhuru Park.
The rally was attended by thousands who defied an order by security authorities asking them to stay away.
The opposition used the rally to conduct a mock swearing in ceremony for Odinga as the ‘people’s president’.
The NASA opposition coalition rejected results from Kenya’s August 8 and October 26 presidential elections, alleging that Odinga was rigged out.
Following failed calls for talks between the government and opposition, the latter went ahead to conduct the mock swearing in ceremony.
Before the event, chairman of the Kenya Editors Guild, Linus Kaikai, issued a statement condemning the President Uhuru Kenyatta’s decision to summon editors and senior media managers to the president’s office in State House on January 26.
Kaikai claimed it was a ploy to undermine the media’s freedom. He said Kenyatta had threatened to shut down any media house that covered Odinga’s swearing in.
The government is yet to confirm or deny the meeting.
HRW’s Namwaya urged the president to reverse the trend against Kenya’s media.
“Kenya is on a very slippery trajectory in regard to human rights, and president Kenyatta urgently needs to reverse this trend,” Namwaya said. “The heightened assault on freedom of the media and expression risks further damaging Kenya’s reputation in the world as a rights-respecting nation,” he said.
