President RUTO says he has the machinery to shut down the media and switch off internet – This man has no respect for the Constitution

 Monday, July 29, 2024 - President William Ruto has once again shown he has no respect for the 2010 constitution after saying he has the power to shut down the media.

Speaking during a town hall meeting in Mombasa on Sunday, Ruto said on June 25, 2024, when protestors stormed parliament, he could have shut down the media but he didn’t

"I am a great believer in the Constitution, many countries that have gone through what Kenya has gone through, Bangladesh for example, they switched off the internet, they switched off the TVs, they did whatever they did," Ruto said

He said despite Kenya going through the same, he did not curtail the freedom of the media and the internet remains available every day for people to continue communicating.

He said the TVs have continued to broadcast live events as they happen in various parts of the country, while newspapers continue to write whatever they want.

"I have the machinery to switch them off, I did not switch them off because I am a believer in the rule of law and I am a believer in free media," Ruto said.

"That is why media can go out and demonstrate and call me names whatever they want, it doesn't bother me, but that is what freedom is about, that is what democracy is about," he said.

What Ruto didn’t realize is that the 2010 Constitution does not grant him the power to shut down the media, and if he attempted to do so on June 25, he could face legal action for violating the Constitution.