Unraveling Kenya’s deadly protests and gov’t recent fight with the press

 

imothy Simwa a journalist in Kenya, who linked the protest to a defiance of the new tax by President Ruto’s regime said: « We have seen the finance bill, which was enacted into an act by the president, attracting a lot of controversies, at least from opinion polls. » The media fraternity has also not been spared with government officials claiming they sympathize with the opposition. The media refute these allegations.

«President William Ruto has the government and the media have had sort of a frosty relationship even before assuming power. The president and his camp felt like he wasn’t being given fair coverage the way the opposition was being given during the campaigns and upon assumption of office, they have not been shy to come out and tell the media that they do not like the way you conduct yourselves. They feel the media has been biased. But the media owners partly feel that the president and his administration have been vindictive in the manner in which it has been operating.

And at some point even citing that they have been blatantly in total disregard of Article 34 of the Constitution, of course, which gives the media the freedom and liberty to operate without any form of control, especially from the state,» said Timothy Simwa, K24 Journalist. The political future of Kenya still remains tense as the government has blamed former President Uhuru Kenyatta for sponsoring the opposition protests.