Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has filed a motion of censure against Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria for his recent attacks on the media.
Kuria attacked the Nation Media Group (NMG) on Sunday, accusing them of being “an opposition party,” in what appeared to be a response to an exposé NMG ran over the weekend on an oil scandal allegedly orchestrated by his ministry.
Labelling the media house’s journalists as “prostitutes,” he even made a roadside declaration directing government agencies to stop advertising with NMG or face dismissal.
In the strongly-worded motion, Sifuna terms Kuria’s utterances “concerning,” saying his attacks on Nation Media Group amount to an infringement of the Constitution as they go against press freedom, guaranteed under Article 34 of the supreme law.
“…the CS for Investments, Trade and Industry, whose reckless tongue has now reached an unmatched level of infamy in the country, and whose divisive, abusive and demeaning rhetoric continues to cause consternation, Sunday, June 18, 2023, posted on his verified social media handles, in reference to the Nation Media Group that ‘Kwa wale xxx(unprintable)wa Aga Khan pale Nation Centre. You can still advertise auctioneers and funeral announcements. We will not stop those,” the Deputy Minority Whip’s motion reads in part.
The censure motion is an official admonishment of a person’s character, and if successful, could lead to the process of Kuria’s dismissal, a role that rests with the National Assembly.Â
“On the same verified social media accounts, CS Kuria posted a screenshot to celebrate a drop in the share price of the Nation Media Group, an indication that Kuria has chosen to run a vendetta against the Nation Media Group for its perceived failure to echo the regime’s lies and false promises. An attack on one media house, as history has shown in other jurisdictions, often leads to attacks on press freedom as a whole,” Sifuna says.Â
The senator also wants the government to be forced to denounce the CS’s statements, which were made on his verified social media accounts, because they could be misconstrued as the government’s official position, citing constitutional safeguards against state interference and media persecution.
The ODM secretary general, who also demands an assurance made to the media that their freedoms shall be safeguarded, is concerned that Kuria’s statements risk taking the country down a path of abuse of rights.
“The media has remained an integral partner in the liberation, democratization and governance history of this country since independence, and whose freedom has been a catalyst to the growth of nearly all sectors of the economy by providing timely and sound information. Indeed, we have been the envy of our neighbours in the region for the robustness and boldness of our media, a hard-earned conquest that we do not take for granted,” Sifuna writes.
