Like many journalists in the counties, Ndung’u Gachane was excited about the tour by three cabinet secretaries in Murang’a. The presence of three cabinet secretaries promises big news for regional correspondents who often milk every moment to file stories to their media houses.
Among the Cabinet Secretaries were Dr Fred Matiang’i, James Macharia (transport) and Peter Munya (Industrialisation). “We followed them the whole day as they inspected various development projects ahead of President Uhuru’s visit,” says Gachane, who later filed an article on the tour for the Saturday Nation.
Two weeks later, Nation Media Group has terminated Gachane’s contract as a correspondent, in a move that has left Kenya’s leading media house in the mix. Gachane was reportedly sacked for delaying a story on Interior and National Coordination Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i during the tour.
Was he bribed?
Gachane has confirmed receiving the letter terminating his one-year contract as a correspondent for the Daily Nation, NMG’s flagship newspaper. Various reports indicate Nation may have yielded to pressure from Dr Matiang’i, a super minister in Uhuru’s cabinet, to kick out the reporter.
Dr Matiang’i, who was in Murang’a to also attend a homecoming party, praised for his performance of cabinet duties and his loyalty to the president. Borabu MP Ben Momanyi ignited the debate on the possibility of the CS taking over from Uhuru when he told the gathering that he was up to the task.
“During the tour an editor called from Nairobi and assigned me to interview Peter Kenneth and get his views on BBI,” Gachane told Business Today in a phone interview. “I sent the story late around 7pm which was too late for me to file the Matiang’i endorsement story.”
The following day, he says an editor called following up on the Mantiang’i story, apparently under pressure, which he filed and was published prominently in the Sunday Nation. “Earlier I had received calls from Matiangi’s office inquiring about why the story was not published in the Saturday Nation.”
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So what changed over the two weeks? It is alleged Gachane may have been compromised by leaders backing Deputy President William Ruto not to write the story, a charge he denies.
“That is neither here nor there,” he said. “Maybe they wanted it to come out as if Central Kenya had endorsed Matiangi, which wasn’t really true since Onyonka is the only one who endorsed him while other leaders just praised his track record. In any case, this is not the first time Onyonka is endorsing Matiang’i.”
While Nation editors remain mum on the issue, Gachane says the sacking letter was vague, lacking specific details on why he was being pushed out. It just said the “company has decided to terminate its January 2020 agreement with you….”
External influencers
Nation Media Group top editors are now dealing with speculation that external influencers are their heads again in its hiring and firing process. A few years ago, there was similar talk of political influence after a number of editors were shown the door, including Denis Galava, Andrew Teyie and Mugumo Munene, thought to have been critical to the establishment.
As this happens, Gachane will be sprucing his CV to try and find a job in a media industry shedding more jobs than it’s creating. “I have worked for Nation for three years without a single complaint or even warning letter,” he said. “I wonder how then I would just be dismissed suddenly without due process.”
