Standard Group, which runs the Standard newspaper and KTN, has suffered a major blow after the government suspended advertising for the media house. The move is seen as the price the media house is paying for being critical of government in its coverage.
Lately, the newspaper, especially, has been taking a critical look at various government personalities, including President William Ruto and even Prime CS Musalia Mudavadi, offering stinging verdicts about their character and performance in office. The straw that may have broken the back is the Tuesday edition that described the broad-based supported handshake between Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga in the frontpage headline, “Fooling Kenyans”.
For the past month or so, it has been featuring critical analysis on President Ruto’s high-ranking officers who, according to The Standard, score poor grades. It has also been critical of Ruto’s flagship project – SHA – the Social Health Authority which replaced NHIF and promises enhanced and affordable public healthcare management but still face teething problems.
Miffed at these exposures, the government, through Broadcasting Principal Secretary (PS) Edward Kisiang’ani, on Monday cancelled Standard Group’s media contract with the Ministry of Irrigation due to its critical coverage. Standard Group had been selected alongside Nation Media Group (NMG), The Star, Cape Media, and government broadcaster Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) to run a campaign for the launch of the National Irrigation Sector Investment Plan (NISIP).
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A letter from the ICT Ministry addressed to the Irrigation PS, Ephantus Kimotho, confirmed that the four media houses had been approved to run the campaign. “Please note that, following administrative advice, the inclusion of Standard Media Group has been cancelled,” a letter signed by Michael Okidi on behalf of PS Kisiang’ani, stated.
The contract for the deal was signed on March 13, 2025. Both Standard newspaper and KTN aired their adverts Monday and were scheduled to honour the contract with a 9pm interview with PS Kimotho at KTN, which was also cancelled at the last minute following the letter.
He was also set to attend another radio interview this morning and one with the Cabinet Secretary tomorrow, in addition to airing adverts in the publication and on online platforms. Standard’s radio stations, TV, online platforms, and this publication were to carry stories and interviews from the department as part of the campaign.
It is not clear how far this will go, but it could cripple Standard Group, currently facing cashflow problems, if the ban is extended to all government advertising. Government ranks among top advertisers in media, alongside bluechips like Safaricom, pumping billions into media buying.
This move by Kisiang’ani comes at a time when SG, NMG and People Daily (PD) are challenging the government in court over another cancelled contract in a case filed by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK). In this case, the three media companies are contesting the President William Ruto-led government’s decision to cancel their contract to distribute MyGov, the weekly government publication, and award it exclusively to The Star. The contract for the publication is held through Convergence Africa Media Limited.
MyGov is a government publication used to inform Kenyans about government projects and run advertisements, initiated under President Uhuru Kenyatta. All autonomous and semi-autonomous state agencies now advertise in the paper managed by the Government Advertising Agency (GAA). In the case, LSK argued that The Star is only distributed in Nairobi, whereas Standard, PD, and Daily Nation have a national reach.
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LSK’s lawyer, Peter Wanjiku, stated that the establishment of GAA and MyGov was not legally anchored, and that the government was depriving Kenyans of access to information regarding jobs and government tenders.
Additionally, a coordinated smear campaign against the group has emerged on social media. A fake letter, allegedly from the Capital Markets Authority, is circulating online, with users claiming that the authority had approved the sale of its stake to Prince Rahim Al-Hussaini, the leader of the Shia Ismaili Muslims and owner of NMG. Others also speculated that the media regulator, the Media Council of Kenya (MCK), had written to the group warning it over its hard-hitting headlines, attaching a fake letter to back up their claims.
There were allegations that the company was being paid to publish negative stories about Kenya Kwanza, with some linking the stories to impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
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