The Kenya Editors’ Guild (KEG) has condemned the denial of access to State House for two Standard Group journalists on Saturday, who had been invited to cover a joint press briefing by President William Ruto and visiting Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar.

In a statement, KEG President Zubeidah Kananu raised concerns over the contempt with which the journalists were treated, describing the incident as “not only an affront to the affected journalists but also a violation of media freedom and the constitutional right to access information.”

According to Kananu, the journalists had followed all required protocols for high-level coverage.

“Denying duly accredited journalists the opportunity to cover official public proceedings amounts to an unjustified restriction of this right,” she said, adding that the media play a vital role in promoting transparency, public accountability, and an informed citizenry.

“Blocking journalists from carrying out their duties at State House sets an extremely dangerous precedent and undermines Kenya’s democratic ideals and international obligations on press freedom,” the second-term KEG president added.

Kananu further stated that State House contravened Article 34 of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of the media and prohibits state interference in broadcasting, publication, or dissemination of information.

She also pointed to Article 33, which protects the right to freedom of expression, including the right to seek, receive, or impart information or ideas, urging all government offices to respect journalists’ constitutional rights and treat all media houses fairly.

“The media industry has established procedures for lodging complaints for those who feel aggrieved by media actions. KEG, therefore, encourages government officials and other institutions to follow these procedures to avoid unnecessary conflict.”

Today’s incident follows a series of attempts by the State to silence SG including the recent directive to revoke all its broadcasting licenses that were legally issued to the company. 

In a letter dated April 9, the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), through Director General David Mugonyi, announced the revocation of the licenses, citing the non-remittance of license fees and the Universal Service Fund (USF) levy.

The Communications Appeals Tribunal, however, handed reprieve to the company as it temporarily halted the Communications Authority of Kenya’s decision to revoke several broadcast licenses held by the Standard Group. 

In orders issued on April 16, the tribunal Chairperson Rosemary Kuria certified Standard Group’s application as urgent and granted a stay of the revocation notices pending an inter-parties hearing.

Kuria directed the Communications Authority to halt the revocation of licenses for Spice FM, KTN News, Berur FM, Radio Maisha, and KTN Burudani until the matter is heard and determined on May 2. 

“Pending the inter parties hearing of the application, there be a stay of the implementation of the decision of the Respondent to revoke and/or of the notices of the revocation of the Appellant’s broadcasting licenses,” the order stated.

Prior to that, the State, through the Ministry of ICT and Digital Economy, had canceled the government advertisement contract to SG, a move that has widely been regarded by many quarters as an attempt to fight press freedom and ultimately democracy. 

SG had been selected alongside Nation Media Group (NMG), The Star, Cape Media, and government broadcaster Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) to run a campaign for the launch of the National Irrigation Sector Investment Plan (NISIP).

“Please note that, following administrative advice, the inclusion of Standard Media Group has been canceled,” the letter, by Michael Okidi on behalf of former PS Kisiang’ani, stated.

SG is also challenging the government in court together with NMG and People Daily (PD) over another canceled contract in a case filed by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK).

In this case, the three media companies are contesting the President William Ruto-led government’s decision to cancel their contract to distribute MyGov, a government publication, and award it exclusively to The Star.