The Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission on Thursday, September 10, warned governors against denying advertisements to media houses over the type of stories published.
The warning by the commission came a day after the Council of Governors threatened to blacklist Nation Media Group from its list of advertising partners following a story published by the Daily Nation titled Eight Governors on Graft Hit List.
EACC boss Twalim Mbarak has since written a letter to the CoG indicating that the move is inappropriate and offends the relevant laws that govern the acquisition of goods and services by public entities.
"Any accounting officer or any other public officer who may proceed to implement such unlawful instructions will be held personally liable," reads the letter.
Further, Mbarak noted that the CoG directive was in breach of Article 10 and Article 227 (1,3 & 21) of the Constitution.
"When a state organ or any other public entity contracts for goods or services, it shall do so in accordance with a system that is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective," reads Article 227 of the Constitution.
In light of this, Mbarak stated that the governors letter amounts to unlawful instructions.
"...the contemplated action by county governments could render all culpable persons liable to the applicable legal consequences including criminal prosecution," Mbarak stated.
The Media Council of Kenya (CoG) also weighed in on the matter on Wednesday, blaming the CoG of intimidating and curtailing media freedoms.
"The CoG cannot of its own accord term the media as unprofessional. Such action amounts to taking the law into their own hands and proceeding to pronounce judgement on an issue it is not made to prosecute.
"The correct action would be for the CoG to lodge its complaint to the Media Complaints Commission to determine the matter guided by the ethical code of journalism appended to the media law in Kenya," MCK CEO David Omwoyo wrote in a press release.
