The Government has virtually suspended operating licences of three independent TV stations pending investigations into possible incitement “during an illegal activity.”
Addressing the press outside Harambee House in Nairobi, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i said individuals and institutions, including some in media houses, would feel the heat if the ongoing probe proves their culpability, saying the State is now beyond “threats.”
Citizen TV, NTV and KTN News were put off air on Tuesday morning by the Communications Authority of Kenya for live streaming the NASA “swearing-in” ceremony at Uhuru Park and what was transpiring on the ground in Opposition strongholds ahead of the event.
“Long gone are the days of threatening action, we will act. The media houses will remain closed until we have completed some of the investigations that we are carrying out,” he said.
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He said the move was informed by intelligence reports that NASA had planned a “massacre” which would have been blamed on the police and propelled by live coverage. He added it was the reason police were withdrawn from the grounds.
“We have commenced investigations targeting certain individuals and organisations who include but not limited to certain media houses,” he added.
The government had last Friday threatened TV and radio stations with cancellation of their licences at a meeting held at State House, Nairobi but was resisted by senior editors and managers.
