The High Court has blocked the swearing-in of the recently re-appointed Media Council of Kenya chairman, Maina Muiruri, and three others as board members.
In issuing the temporary orders blocking their induction into office on Tuesday, August 5, Justice Bahati Mwamuye dealt a big blow to ICT Cabinet Secretary William Kabogo, who had re-appointed Muiruri via a gazette notice on July 25, 2025.
“Pending the inter partes hearing and determination of the Petitioners/Applicants' Notice of Motion Application dated 04/08/2025, a conservatory order be and is hereby issued restraining the 2nd-5th Interested Parties, being Joseph Maina Muiruri, Susan Karago, Timothy Wanyonyi Chetambe, and Tabitha Mutemi from being sworn-in, taking oath/affirmation, or performing the functions of the offices of Chairperson and/or Board Members of the Media Council of Kenya,” read a section of the ruling.
The orders arose after three petitioners moved to court seeking to prevent their swearing-in, criticising Kabogo for appointing the four before a selection panel completed the hiring process.
Mwamuye also issued a conservatory order staying the implementation — or further implementation — of the Gazette Notice of their appointment by Kabogo, which had directed Muiruri and Co. to serve a term of three years.
In the petition, the petitioners argued that the individuals appointed by the CS were all applicants who were still under consideration by the selection panel. As such, they contended that Kabogo had violated the Media Council Act by proceeding with their reappointment.
“The Cabinet Secretary’s decision to appoint them before the Panel concludes the process patently violates the Media Council Act and short-circuits the process,” the petitioners stated through their lawyer, Peter Wanyama.
They further argued that Kabogo’s bypassing of the selection panel amounted to an egregious usurpation of the panel’s statutory mandate, set a dangerous precedent, and risked turning the MCK into a politically beholden entity.
This, they said, would ultimately undermine Article 34 of the Constitution and pose a threat to the independence of the media sector.
Muiruri has served as the Chairman of MCK since his initial appointment in 2021, where he served a full term before his recent reappointment.
He is a highly respected veteran in the Kenyan media industry with a long and distinguished career. He worked his way up through the ranks as a writer and editor at the Standard Media Group PLC, one of Kenya's oldest and largest media houses.
Notably, he was instrumental in the establishment of the People Daily, serving as a founding Managing Editor.
