Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua on Thursday, October 24, launched a vicious attack on The Standard newspaper over a story that portrayed Transport and Infrastructure Cabinet Secretary James Macharia as the weak link in President Uhuru Kenyatta's Cabinet.
In a video that was posted by Daily Nation on YouTube, Gachagua expressed the collective disappointment of leaders from Mt Kenya region over the 7-page feature published by the paper, detailing failures by the CS.
Gachagua, flanked by other MPs from Central Kenya, sought to clear the air over the story, which he referred to as full of malice and unwarranted blackmail.
"We saw seven pages of lies, innuendos and things with no basis, written without taking time to verify the details. It is pure vendetta, meant to intimidate the CS and to undermine his Infrastructure docket," he stated.
He alleged that the accusations made by the publication were not to be taken at face value since they were being peddled by prominent businessmen and some of the newspaper's owners who saw the CS as an impediment to 'selfish programs' that they wanted to benefit from.
He claimed that the feud had stemmed from vested interests in the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), where owners of private freight container stations in Mombasa saw the directive to exclusively transport cargo via the railway as a ploy to hurt their businesses.
He was of the opinion that the powerful figures had taken advantage of their connections and influence to intimidate the CS to elbow him out of office.
"Those people have waged an onslaught on the CS with a view to intimidating him to stop implementing the SGR operations. The owners of the freight stations are also the owners of the leading newspaper station," he accused.
He reiterated Mt Kenya region's support for the CS and urged media houses and their owners to practise due diligence on the stories they publish.
"We want to urge the media owners to allow the editorial policies of their newspapers to be independent. They should not mix their personal business interests with editorial policies," he concluded.
Video Courtesy of Daily Nation
