Monday, June 19, 2023 – It appears the Kenya Kwanza regime has declared total war against Nation Media Group (NMG) for exposing corruption scandals in President William Ruto’s government.
This is after Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua also accused NMG of bias in its coverage after Trade CS Moses Kuria.
Gachagua callously criticised the Nation article which analysed President William Ruto’s expenditures on foreign trips.
In what appears to be a coordinated attack, Gachagua, while addressing European Union delegates at State House, Nairobi, claimed that Nation Media was hell-bent on undermining the President’s achievements and damaging his reputation.
He also claimed that the media was subtly inciting the public against Ruto by allegedly publishing false and misleading articles.
“Today, I woke up to a new headline claiming that you had spent three times more than the former administration on foreign trips alone.”
“However, they failed to explain to the public the achievements seen from the trips, including this trade deal which we are signing right now,” Gachagua claimed.
He thus urged the media to deviate from what he argued was selective coverage and conduct in-depth research in its watchdog and gatekeeping roles.
“If only they conducted some research, the media would conclude that all successful administrations must make bold steps to reach out to partners.”
“They are not honest enough to review the activities that you undertook during that period, because, the cost responds to the level of activities undertaken,” Gachagua defended Ruto.
The foreign trips, he argued, were instrumental in ensuring President William Ruto secures his legacy, and the media ought to inform the public on milestones made rather than pushing out an incoherent narrative.
“He (Ruto) found the economy in a quagmire, and he had to do everything possible, including working with partners to reboot it for the betterment of the country,” Gachagua claimed.
According to the article, Ruto’s administration splashed Ksh14 billion on travel, Ksh6 billion on hospitality, and Ksh3.3 billion on fuel and maintenance of vehicles, which was Ksh1.6 billion more than the Ksh12.4 billion spent in 2022.
CS Moses Kuria had also criticised Nation Media for publishing an article that claimed that Ksh6 billion in oil funds were embezzled through flawed tenders issued by the Trade and Agriculture ministries.
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