Media shutdown points to disregard for the rule of law

Events of the past few days describe a disturbing trend that should now be cause for worry. For a country that proclaims respect for the rule of law, we are doing very poorly. Today marks the fifth day Kenyans will be staring at blank television screens following Tuesday’s government shutdown of leading stations. The unprecedented media crackdown has also given the country a chance to see the evolution of Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i, as he tries to fit in the shoes of his predecessors, who equally had a love-hate relationship with the media.

But there has not been a government that has shown its intolerance for independent media than the Jubilee regime. This is the second time under this administration that the media has been shut down. The silence of the President and his deputy and the behaviour of people around them suggest that the media crackdown has the blessings of State House, especially after journalists from private media were denied access to cover President Uhuru Kenyatta’s return from the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The first time, the government used the excuse of digital migration, just to show the media that it was in charge. It is also not lost to the media fraternity the implied message in President Kenyatta’s frequent outbursts that newspapers are for wrapping meat whenever they cover something the government does not take kindly.