Presidential Debate Will Be Fair – Media Says After Ruto Threatened To Withdraw

The 2022 presidential debate is still on and will be fair, the media has assured Deputy President William Ruto just a day after he threatened to withdraw over media bias.

In a statement, the Presidential Debate secretariat Clifford Machoka stated the event is governed by guidelines that are validated with fairness and accountability.

“The debates embody the principles of fairness, integrity, independence and accountability as enshrined in the Presidential Debates Guidelines…Indeed, for us to take our country forward, it behooves us to work together rather than threaten processes that are important to the country,” the statement reads in part.

Yesterday, UDA encouraged its presidential candidate William Ruto to withdraw from the presidential debate scheduled for July.

Read: UDA Wants DP Ruto Out of Presidential Debate Over Media Bias

UDA Communications Director Hussein Mohammed said in a statement on Thursday that this was due to media bias.

“We have noted with much concern the repeated and continued bias and propaganda in a section of Kenya’s mainstream media in abuse of statutory,” he said.

According to Mohammed, political news is a matter of public interest, hence coverage by journalists, media practitioners, or media enterprises must be fair, truthful, and cover all sides of the issue.

Media Owners Association, Media Council of Kenya and Kenya Editors Guild jointly announced that the Presidential and Deputy Presidential Debates will take place before the elections without giving the specific dates.

“It is scheduled to take place in July in consultation with Political parties ahead of August 9, 2022. Also, a team of senior editors from across media houses has been put in place to secure the interest of Kenyans and to deliver fairness to all concerned,” they said in a joint statement.