President William Ruto has drawn criticism from the political class, human rights groups, and ordinary Kenyans after he posted on X attacking the Standard Group for the second day running yesterday.
The majority questioned the appropriateness of the comments against the media house, coming from the holder of the country's highest office.
Among those who condemned the President’s post was Jimi Wanjigi, who described the attack as "an egregious affront to constitutional freedom of the media and access to information," warning that such moves could undermine democratic principles ahead of the next General Election.
In a statement, Wanjigi termed the President's remarks as an attempt to undermine media independence.
“This unjustifiable and horrific attack on the Standard Group is an attempt to brutally gag the entire gamut of media independence... It is a dangerous act, especially at a time when the country is heading towards a high-stakes General Election,” said Wanjigi.
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The criticism follows a post on X in which Ruto accused the Standard Group of running what he termed "extortionist propaganda" through its newspaper headlines, alleging the coverage was motivated by greed and blackmail.
"GMoi, your STANDARD media's five days a week EXTORTIONIST propaganda HEADLINES on me & my administration's transformative track record will get you NOTHING & NOWHERE. BLACKMAIL to yield to your GREED? NEVER. Kenya belongs to all Kenyans, not you alone. Jaribu 8 days a week. Do your WORST," the president wrote on June 24, evoking public outrage.
And on Thursday, the President took to X again, attacking Senator Gideon Moi and the media house.
Ms Martha Karua, the People's Liberation Party leader, told off the President over the attacks. "Just fix the country and the headlines will fix themselves," she wrote on X.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Standard Group had rejected the allegations and defended the outlet's editorial independence.
“The post was condescending and attacked the very foundation of our journalism using language that falls short of the tone expected from the highest office in the land,” Group Chief Executive Officer Chaacha Mwita said.
The media house maintained that its role is to hold leaders accountable and inform the public without fear or favour.
“He is the country’s leader and when he fails, Kenya fails. But The Standard will not cheer on failure; we will instead point it out,” the GCEO said in a statement.
On the question of blackmail, the group countered that there was no bigger blackmail than the withholding of some Sh1.2 billion in outstanding debt.
"What greater form of blackmail is there than a government withholding 1.2 billion shillings that it owes us, with the apparent desire of frustrating our operations? We are victims of blackmail, not perpetrators," Mr Mwita posed.
The Standard Group has maintained its commitment to independent journalism. "The Standard Group PLC remains committed to its constitutional duty: to inform, to scrutinise and to uphold the public's right to know," it said.
The ongoing attacks have reignited debate over media freedom and the relationship between the government and the press.