President William Ruto has assured Royal Media Services (RMS), which owns Citizen TV and a chain of stations that his administration will not pursue a personal vendetta, hours after the Supreme Court upheld his election victory.
Speaking to the media on Monday, September 5, Ruto stated RMS would be treated equally as other media houses during his reign.
Citizen TV, owned by business mogul and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga's ally SK Macharia was one of the media houses that had been accused of bias by the Kenya Kwanza camp during the electioneering period.
However, the DP took a jab at the media organisation while fielding questions from journalists, wondering if its crew was present at the media briefing at his residence in Karen.
"We can have the last question and by the way, where are my good friends from Citizen Tv?
"I want to promise you that you will be treated equally as other Kenyas. I know sometimes people think that people who fought against us will have a problem as we harbour grudges, but we don't. We shall work together," he stated.
His statement leaders who had accompanied him during the presser burst into laughter even as Brenda Wanga from Citizen TV took the opportunity to ask her question.
Additionally, during the presser, the president-elect also took a swipe at some of the Citizen Tv journalists who had openly supported his opponent.
"I think it is a fair question. How is my good friend Stephen Letoo doing?," Ruto asked.
In a quick rejoinder, Letoo, a political reporter who hoped from county to county with the Azimio team during campaigns, told Ruto that he was available.
"I am here my good friend, Mr President," Letoo posted on his social media accounts.
The Ruto-led faction had on several occasions lamented over Citizen's Tv's coverage. In particular, the RMS-owned station claimed that they were given less air time as compared to Raila.
For instance, prior to the presidential debate in July, Ruto had stated that he would not attend the debate as the organisers were biased. Eventually, Ruto showed up for the debate, which his main competitor Raila Odinga skipped.
“If the presidential debate is being organized by a media house which has taken sides, what moral authority do they have to tell us to participate in the debate?”
“If you have taken sides then organise presidential debate for the side and don’t expect us to sanitize the process," he stated then.
