The Communication Authority of Kenya (CA) is set to revoke the broadcasting licenses of 42 television stations across the country.
In a gazette notice dated September 12, CA's Director General, David Mugonyi, claimed that the revocation, which is in line with the Kenya Information and Communications Act (Cap. 411), will take place in the next seven days.
Some notable stations appearing on the list include Metropol TV, Mount Kenya TV, Kingdom Ambassadors TV, and Tourism and Wildlife TV (Safari Channel), among others.
According to the DG, once the licences have been revoked, the broadcaster will no longer be authorised to operate, and any resources held under the licences will go back to the authority.
"Notice is given pursuant to the provisions of the Kenya Information and Communications Act (Cap. 411) that the Communications Authority of Kenya shall revoke the postal licences of the following service providers within seven (7) days from the date of this Gazette Notice," Mugonyi stated.
"Upon revocation of the licences, the licensees shall not be authorised to operate and provide the services as indicated in the table above," he added.
The authority can shut down a TV station for several reasons, related to regulatory violations or breaches of broadcasting standards.
Some of these reasons include broadcasting inappropriate content, failure to establish necessary broadcasting infrastructure, and non-payment of the licence fee.
These measures are usually taken to enforce regulatory compliance, maintain broadcasting standards, and ensure that TV stations operate within the required legal framework.
Three months ago, the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) announced that 23 television stations, including popular outlets such as Kameme TV, were at risk of closure for violating betting advertisement regulations.
In a statement on May 5, BCLB Director Peter Mbugi said that the television continued to air betting content with payment prompts, despite an earlier directive suspending such advertisements.
“Following the Board’s recent press statement announcing a 30-day suspension of betting advertisements, it has come to our attention that several media outlets continue to run unauthorised betting promotions,” BCLB stated.
