Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, on Friday, June 23, disagreed with a court ruling which barred Trade Cabinet Secretary, Moses Kuria, from making derogatory remarks against the media.
Speaking during a graduation ceremony at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), the DP, a staunch media critic, alleged that the justice system was flawed and lopsided.
He demanded the Judiciary exercise balance in its verdicts by protecting the interests of political leaders also allegedly aggrieved by the media.
Gachagua further pressured judges to approve restraining orders against the media as requested by the political elite to demonstrate that the courts were not biased.
Such restraining orders would help affected political leaders hold the media accountable despite the government being a proponent of media freedom.
"The same way courts have been persuaded to gag Moses Kuria from holding the press to account, they must give the same orders when leaders call for restraint against the media so that we are fair.
"We must have equity and fairness. What is good for Nation Newspaper must be good for Moses Kuria," Gachagua escalated his onslaught against the media while underlying the need for a fair and impartial legal system.
The former Mathira MP reiterated that the Kenya Kwanza administration was prepared to counter media reports with facts and reports. He, however, dismissed claims that it had orchestrated attacks to interfere with media independence.
"You have been having a field day for too long, and you must take responsibility for what you write," the second in command insisted.
On Wednesday, June 21, a High Court issued an injunction barring CS Kuria from attacking media practitioners. Justice Lawrence Mugambi gave the order pending the determination of a suit filed by human rights defender Charles Mugane.
"Pending the hearing and determination of this application, an injunction be and is hereby issued against the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industries, the Moses Kuria, preventing him from uttering and expressing any insulting words," Mugambi directed.
Before the injunction, President William Ruto had also defended CS Kuria, maintaining that he was expressing his freedom of speech. Ruto, however, vowed to defend media freedom like Gachagua.
“We must defend the free media, their rights to criticise whatever they want even to write falsehoods. But we must also defend the people who hold the media to account,” Ruto told reporters after flagging off the safari rally in Naivasha on Wednesday, June 21.
Kuria had threatened to withdraw all government advertisements from Nation Africa Group after it exposed a Ksh6 billion edible oil scandal in his ministry.
His statement attracted backlash from media practitioners, including Nation Media Group, Kenya Union of Journalists and the Media Council of Kenya.
Through Nairobi senator Edwin Sifuna, the opposition also tabled a censure motion against Kuria in the Senate.
