Kenya Lawyers Threat to Sue Government
By Our reporter
NAIROBI — Kenya’s government is being sued by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), for contracting a local newspaper to solely publish and distribute government advertisements through a weekly supplement.
The LSK claims the move to centralize government advertising in the newspaper, The Star, will stifle media freedom and limit public access to information in contravention of several constitutional provisions.
The suit comes a fortnight after Semafor Africa exclusively reported that executives at two of Kenya’s largest media houses — Nation Media Group (NMG) and Mediamax — had discussed potential legal challenges to the government’s award of the tender to The Star, which threatens to cost them millions of dollars in potential revenue amid a financial downturn in the sector. The government supplement, MyGov, was previously co-distributed by Nation, Standard and People Daily. Government advertising accounts for around 30% to 40% of the revenues of newspaper houses.
Media executives who spoke to Semafor Africa claimed the move by President William Ruto’s administration was meant to hurt their ability to hold the government accountable.
The government defended the award of the tender, saying the process was above board and noting that The Star’s bid was much lower than those of its rivals.
The High Court in Nairobi on Monday ordered for the ICT ministry and National Treasury to be served with court papers regarding the matter.
