Media houses protest blackout as court orders CAK to restore signals

KTN news centre in Nairobi, one of the media stations ordered to halt live protest broadcasts by the Communications Authority. [File,Standard] Three mainstream media houses have condemned the shutdown of their television stations by the government terming it an attempt to suppress press freedom and access to information. The Standard Media Group, Nation Media Group and Mediamax on Wednesday had their TV stations' - KTN, NTV and K24 respectively, switched off following a directive by Communications Authority of Kenya. In strongly-worded separate statements on Wednesday, the media houses labeled the decision as a direct assault on press freedom. "The Standard Group views this as a blatant violation of the Constitution, in particular Article 34, which safeguards media freedom and prohibits state interference in broadcasting or dissemination of information," said SG Chief Executive Officer Chacha Mwita. On Wednesday, CA's director David Mugonyi made real his threat and shut down signals of TV channels broadcasting live the protests that marred the first commemoration of June 25, demos that claimed at least 60 lives. The decision, Mr Mwita said, contravenes a recent High Court ruling which reaffirmed that only the Media Council of Kenya has the authority to regulate broadcast content. He said there exist elaborate legal channels to address any concerns about media conduct, and that the CA's overreach entirely bypasses these mechanisms. He maintains that KTN was "diligently and responsibly reporting on public demonstrations - events of critical public interest and a constitutionally protected expression of citizens' rights." Mr. Chacha assured that it will not be cowed by the illegal acts by CA and threats of an impending raid at the groups Mombasa Road Headquarters. NMG said shutdown of NTV is a "direct interference with our editorial operations and suppression of the media's constitutionally protected role to inform the public, dismissing CA reports that that they contravened any journalism ethic. According to Nation Media Group, the police and Communications Authority of Kenya forcefully entered NTV's Limuru transmission station and switched off their Free-to-Air signal. "NMG strongly condemns this illegal action and affirms its commitment to a fair, balanced and credible journalism. Transparency and integrity are the key tenets of our duty to the public," said the group. Mediamax through the group's Chief Executive Officer, Kenneth Ngaruiya, considered the move to shut down K24 as an affront on press freedom and the right of Kenyans to information by a free and independent media. Mr. Ngaruiya assured Kenyans that the media house "will remain resilient, resolute and committed to people-centred journalism." Hours later, the High Court dealt the authority a blow by freezing the order for the media to stop broadcasting protests live and ordered all stations to immediately be taken back on air. Hours after CA's director David Mugonyi issued the draconian directive, Justice Chacha Mwita intervened in a case filed by Law Society of Kenya. " A conservatory order is hereby issued suspending, with immediate effect, the directive Ref No. CA/CE/BC/TV90A or any other directive issued by Communication Authority of Kenya to all Television and Radio Stations directing them to stop live coverage of the demonstrations of 25th June 2025 or any other demonstrations, until the hearing and determination of the application and petition," ruled Justice Mwita. He continued: " Any Broadcasting signals that may have been switched off as a result of the referenced directive be restored with immediate effect, pending further orders of the court." LSK in its case argued that the move was illegal and excessive, and was meant to black out police excesses on the protestors.

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