NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 20 – Crop Development Principal Secretary Kello Harsama has declared that his department will halt Nation Media advertisements in the intensifying conflict with NMG.
Harsama stated that his decision to stop advertising with the media outlet is due to misinformation and propaganda.
“My communication team has verified its real Nation. I want to officially say in protest of deliberate propaganda and misinformation, that my state department will also NOT advertise in the Nation until am convinced that the war is over. They will have to choose politics or business,” he said.
This choice was made in response to a Monday article in Nation publication titled “Ruto’s subsidized fertilizer farmers do not want,” which includes data on the number of bags of fertilizer delivered and the percentage of farmers who chose to use the subsidized fertilizer.
However, the war with Nation was escalated on Sunday when Trade CS Moses Kuria in Embu during a church service accused NMG of being “an opposition party”.
Kuria made a roadside declaration ostensibly directing government agencies to stop advertising with the media house.
The CS implied that the media outlet was only appropriate for advertisements on auctions and funeral announcements and threatened to sack any state official who placed ads.
“I want to tell Nation Media, you need to choose whether you are a newspaper, broadcasting house or an opposition party. From today, not even tomorrow, if any government department advertises with Nation Media, know you are on your way home,” Kuria had stated.
However, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has told off Trade CS Moses Kuria over his comments to halt advertising with select media companies stating that the government will allow the media to continue doing its work.
Speaking on Monday, in Mombasa, Gachagua criticized the media outlet, saying that it had gone “rogue” and was a member of the opposition brigade that was attempting to topple the government.
“I want to assure you, the Nation newspaper, whereas I agree with Moses Kuria that you have become rogue, and you are part of the Azimio brigade trying to bring down the government I don’t agree with what he has suggested that we stop advertising with you, “he said.
“We shouldn’t because we are a democracy, and we should be able to allow you to continue doing your job. Ours is to call you out. When you go overboard, we must tell you on the face.”
Media sector associations condemned Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria’s onslaught against the National Media Group as disgraceful.
In separate statements issued on Monday after Kuria called journalists “prostitutes”, the Media Owners Association (MOA), Media Council of Kenya (MCK), Kenya Editors’ Guild (KEG) and Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ) termed the minister’s remarks as a threat to free press.
Media Council CEO David Omwoyo defended the media’s watchdog role in holding the government and those in power to account.
“The Council notes that this is the most extreme, since independence that individuals have pushed media and government relations to the brink and lowered the country’s dignity,” he said.
KEG castigated Kuria’s remarks as “unwarranted, uncalled for and totally off the mark.”
“The media plays a very important role in a democracy, including holding power to account. In doing so, the media does not operate above the law,” the guild stated.
“If a State Officer or any Kenyan for that matter, is aggrieved by the work of the media, they have an array of avenues to raise them, including pursuing the legal route or reaching out to the media entity concerned,” it added.
KUJ said Kuria was “becoming a symbol of national shame” and condemned his reactions to media reports as an embarrassment to Kenyans.
“We would wish to remind Mr. Kuria that he is now a Cabinet Secretary whose actions and utterances should promote a positive image of Kenya as a nation. In line with tenets of leadership and integrity law,” Secretary-General Eric Oduor said.
MOA termed Kuria’s remarks as “a clear and unequivocal blackmail, contrary to the legal provisions.”
