High Court suspends CA decision to censure 6 TV stations for covering Azimio protests

The High Court has suspended the decision by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) to censure six Television stations for covering Monday’s demonstrations by the opposition Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition party.

In a ruling on Friday, the court issued orders barring the Authority from carrying on with the threat to revoke licences of the six broadcasters among them Citizen TV, NTV, K24, KBC, TV47 and Ebru TV.

According to court papers seen by Citizen Digital, a case filed by the Katiba Institute, Law Society of Kenya (LSK) as well as journalist unions raised weighty issues saying the decision by CA could undermine media freedom.

The court also said that CA’s decision may endanger the lives of people since the police would be acting in absence of the fourth estate as the people’s watchdog.

"CA’s decision could have a chilling effect on media freedom, freedom of information, and freedom of expression,” read court documents.

“Besides, the decision endangers life because it would enable the trigger-happy National Police Service to operate in darkness and police demonstrations without media oversight.”

In a Wednesday letter by CA CEO Ezra Chiloba, the Authority had criticised the said TV stations for broadcasting the protests led by Azimio leader Raila Odinga live, claiming they violated the code of coverage.

Chiloba thus threatened “liability under relevant provisions of the law, including revocation of broadcast licence and/or broadcast frequencies.”

Katiba Institute, in a subsequent letter to CA, condemned the decision terming it as a “threat to press freedom.”

“We see your actions as a threat to freedom of expression, information, and of the media and a repetition of the 2013 TV shutdown by you. Your decision endangers life because it would enable the trigger-happy Kenyan National Police Service to operate in darkness,” Katiba Institute said on Thursday.