What prominent Kenyans are saying after 7 days of Media Black out

godfred akoto

February 5, 2018 5:13 AM

Prominent Kenyans are worried by the current tenuous situation

Four TV stations in Kenya continue to remain off air seven days after the Communications Authority of Kenya took action against the for the broadcast of Raila Odingas mock swearing as the "peoples president" of Kenya on January 30.

Citizen TV,Inooro TV, NTV and KTN remain off air even after an activist Omkiyah Omtatah went before a Milimani High Court to file a suit against the action. The Court issued an order on Thursday, February 1 requiring the Communications Authority of Kenya to restore the stations with "immediate effect".

As at the time of writing this story the Communications Authority had not complied with the order.

The government has not officially responded to the court order but the country's Interior Cabinet Secretary, Fred Matiang'i had in a statement indicated that the stations would remain closed until investigations were completed .

The action has split opinion the world over and Business Insider SSA has compiled quotes from prominent Kenyans on the situation.

“This is absolutely unprecedented in our history. We’ve never seen something like this, not even under Moi.” - George Kegoro, director of the Kenya Human Rights Commission

“If the government is in power on the basis of the existing Constitution, then it should honor a court-issued order. “I think Kenya is moving away from a legal basis of government, which we fought for. It’s setting a very dangerous precedent where decisions will be made on basis of your political persuasions and all the things provided for in law will be irrelevant.” -Joe Odindo,editorial director of the Standard Group

“This is a new crisis for democracy. “Defying a court order is subverting the rule of law.” - Willy Mutunga former chief justice of the Kenyan Supreme Court,

“Kenya hasn’t seen anything like this before — this is unheard-of. “When there is a court order you don’t obey, you look like a rogue state.” - Ahmednasir Abdullahi ,Lawyer for Uhuru Kenyatta during Election Petition

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