Kenyans Name a ‘People’s President,’ and TV Broadcasts Are Cut
- 6 years ago
Kenyans Name a ‘People’s President,’ and TV Broadcasts Are Cut
Mr. Njoka suggested that This shows that we have a very intolerant government
that does not respect media freedom, and for that reason, the media have every reason to keep fighting for every space to be able to operate according to the law.
NAIROBI, Kenya — The Kenyan government cut transmissions of three private television stations
and moved to criminalize a political opposition group on Tuesday, as supporters of the opposition leader Raila Odinga gathered in the capital to name him "the people’s president." Mr. Odinga lost his bid for the presidency last year to the incumbent, Uhuru Kenyatta, but he says the voting was plagued by fraud.
But early Tuesday evening, Fred Matiang’i, the Interior Ministry secretary, declared the National Resistance Movement, which is part of Mr. Odinga’s opposition coalition, an "organized
criminal group." Mwenda Njoka, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said the designation was a response to the symbolic oath of office that Mr. Odinga took on Tuesday.
" Mr. Njoka said. that We’ve seen that they want to almost form a militia,
and the government has to take action and deal with them before the government gets into that kind of situation,
" Mr. Githongo said. that I’m getting calls from my relatives up country, who obviously know this is happening,
and they’re getting bits from social media and telephone calls talking about mayhem in Nairobi, about a police crackdown — things that are not happening,
Earlier in the day, police officers and officials from the Communications Authority of Kenya descended on a broadcast transmission station in Limuru, about 18 miles outside Nairobi,
and disconnected broadcasting equipment, according to Linus Kaikai, the chairman of the Kenya Editors Guild and the general manager of the television division at Nation Media Group, which owns NTV, one of the three channels disconnected.
Mr. Njoka suggested that This shows that we have a very intolerant government
that does not respect media freedom, and for that reason, the media have every reason to keep fighting for every space to be able to operate according to the law.
NAIROBI, Kenya — The Kenyan government cut transmissions of three private television stations
and moved to criminalize a political opposition group on Tuesday, as supporters of the opposition leader Raila Odinga gathered in the capital to name him "the people’s president." Mr. Odinga lost his bid for the presidency last year to the incumbent, Uhuru Kenyatta, but he says the voting was plagued by fraud.
But early Tuesday evening, Fred Matiang’i, the Interior Ministry secretary, declared the National Resistance Movement, which is part of Mr. Odinga’s opposition coalition, an "organized
criminal group." Mwenda Njoka, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said the designation was a response to the symbolic oath of office that Mr. Odinga took on Tuesday.
" Mr. Njoka said. that We’ve seen that they want to almost form a militia,
and the government has to take action and deal with them before the government gets into that kind of situation,
" Mr. Githongo said. that I’m getting calls from my relatives up country, who obviously know this is happening,
and they’re getting bits from social media and telephone calls talking about mayhem in Nairobi, about a police crackdown — things that are not happening,
Earlier in the day, police officers and officials from the Communications Authority of Kenya descended on a broadcast transmission station in Limuru, about 18 miles outside Nairobi,
and disconnected broadcasting equipment, according to Linus Kaikai, the chairman of the Kenya Editors Guild and the general manager of the television division at Nation Media Group, which owns NTV, one of the three channels disconnected.