Kericho Senator Aaron Cheruiyot on Tuesday, April 15, slammed Kenyan media over its coverage of the Kenya Kwanza government, particularly President William Ruto.
While speaking at the burial of former Member of Parliament John Koech, the Senate Majority Leader criticised the negative coverage of Ruto, citing it was “ridicule” and a lack of respect towards the Office of the President.
Cheruiyot asserted that the country had been on a good trajectory since Ruto took power and that the coverage of the Head of State was uncalled for.
“What we see happening in the newspapers, even me as someone who studied journalism, what I am reading in the media, it is not journalism anymore,” Cheruiyot stated.
“It is as if the rules have been suspended. I want to appeal to the country that there will be another president after William Ruto. The institution of the presidency is not about William Ruto alone. This is a seat that is sacred to the country. Let us have limits to what can be said about the one who is in that seat,” he added.
The Senator’s comments come as Ruto and his government have been subject to hard-hitting newspaper headlines and fact-checks on his statements and promises.
On Sunday, March 2, Ruto responded to the Standard newspaper over their ‘Cunning Ruto’ headline that struck the wrong chord with him.
Speaking during a church service at Jesus Winner Ministry in Roysambu, Nairobi, Ruto argued that the headline was inspired by recent political developments where his opponents had attempted to orchestrate his failure, yet he managed to navigate through the challenges successfully.
''If you read today's newspaper (the Standard), the headline states that Ruto is very cunning. I want to tell them that I am not as cunning as they think. This is the grace of God that is leading me. We believe in God," Ruto stated.
Ruto and his new political partner, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, were also the subject of another scathing headline —Fooling Kenyans — on the front page.
The push-pull between the government and the newspaper was the perceived cause of the ICT Ministry's cancellation of all advertising campaigns with the Gideon Moi-owned newspaper. In a letter seen by Kenyans.co.ke, Principal Secretary Edward Kisiang'ani excluded the media house from a previously approved list of media outlets selected for an irrigation campaign.
The most recent development happened on the evening of Monday, April 14, with The Standard Group PLC, which owns KTN, claiming that the government, through the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), was planning to revoke its broadcasting licence.
