NAIROBI: Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has hit out at State broadcaster KBC as well as K24, linked to President Uhuru Kenyatta's family, for boycotting his press conference.
Representatives from the two stations were conspicuously absent at Orange House Wednesday when Raila received a report from a task force he had appointed to look into wrangles bedevilling Kisumu County.
The two stations' absence is thought to have been influenced by Raila's comments in the past two days following the Government shut-down of KTN, NTV, QTV and Citizen TV, following a row over digital migration.
"Their absence is telling; it's no surprise. We are used to them giving us a blackout," he said.
On Monday, Raila referred to KBC as 'Voice of Kenyatta' (VoK) and K24 as 'Kenyatta24', words understood to have infuriated the management of the two stations.
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And on Tuesday, the former PM said the country had been plunged back to the Kanu days when there was only one station - Voice of Kenya (now KBC).
During the Tuesday presser, Raila announced the postponement of the launch of the Okoa Kenya referendum draft bill, saying most Kenyans had no access to information owing to the TV blackout. He regretted that KBC and K24 had shown bias towards the Opposition's activities.
He cited Monday's returning of nomination papers by Orange Democratic Movement candidate for the Kajiado Central by-election, Kanchori Memusi, which KBC and K24 reportedly gave minimal coverage.
CORD is also perturbed that on Sunday, the Okoa Kenya Committee of Experts called a press conference that was covered by the two stations but not aired at news time.
Meanwhile, smarting from the embarrassment of supporting Philip Okundi, who lost in last week's Homa Bay senatorial by-election, Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero made a surprise visit to Orange House to pledge allegiance to ODM.
He joined the party's National Executive Committee members, who were meeting the Kajiado Central by-election campaign team, and pledged moral and material support for the ODM candidate.
