The Media Complaints Commission (MCC) on Thursday, June 19, ordered Nation Media Group (NMG) to make amends to a documentary which falsely linked the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) church to religious extremism.
The decision stems from a complaint filed by an SDA member to the Media Council's complaints commission, accusing NTV of wrongfully linking the church to alleged occult practices.
The media house, in its controversial documentary, Holy Betrayal: Full SDA Cult Exposé, aired on April 7 2024, was also criticised for unfairly associating the church with the infamous Shakahola Massacre.
Upon receiving the complaint, MCC probed the allegations, only to find the media outlet guilty of breaching the Code of Conduct for Journalism, specifically on the accuracy and fairness clause.
"The MCC found the programme’s overarching narrative, sensational title and repeated unsubstantiated parallels between the SDA Church and extremist groups to be unfair," the media watchdog stated.
To address the issue, NTV was ordered to within 14 days publish a prominent disclaimer to all online versions of the documentary stating that there was no proven link between the SDA church and the extremist groups mentioned.
However, the complainant's request to permanently remove the documentary was rejected, as was his claim that the broadcast by NTV harmed the church's reputation.
The controversial documentary alleged that there was an offshoot of an SDA church in Nyanza where members did not believe in formal education, hospitals and that professionals were ditching their lucrative careers due to radicalisation.
Following the allegations, the SDA leadership in April last year called out the media house over the broadcast, which they labelled as demeaning, misleading, and produced in bad faith.
In its statement, the church reiterated that it adhered to forms of worship highlighted in the Bible, adding that being associated with extremism was highly regrettable.
"We, the SDA church, take great exception to the assertions of connections between Shakahola and the story that largely highlighted the troubles of one family and some people who do not qualify to be called Adventists," the church leadership stated.
"The Seventh-day Adventist Church, therefore, cannot be dragged into activities of any splinter groups or offshoots which do not adhere to the teachings and practices of the church," it added.
