The Government shutdown of TV stations for defying a directive not to cover the live swearing-in of Opposition leader Raila Odinga was the biggest story in international media yesterday. The BBC reported that the Kenyan authorities shut down TV stations to prevent live coverage of a swearing-in event by Raila, who disputed last year’s presidential election results.
The election was annulled following allegations of irregularities. Uhuru Kenyatta won a repeat election in October, but Raila did not take part. Uhuru was sworn in for a second term last November. The President is reported to have warned the media not to cover the event and the Attorney General said holding such a ceremony amounted to treason. Speaking to KTN, Raila said the media ban “confirms we have descended to the level of Uganda”, which stopped media coverage during elections in 2016. Three privately owned television stations - NTV, KTN and Citizen TV - went off air from around 9am. Citizen TV told the BBC the Government authorities had forced them off the air because of the station’s plans to cover the gathering.