The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has said that the decision to censure six TV stations over the coverage of Azimio protests was taken out of context.
This was after a High Court suspended the censure of the TV stations; K24, NTV, Citizen TV, TV47, Ebru TV and KBC.
In a statement on Friday, CA Director General Ezra Chiloba said his advisory was misunderstood.
“Having observed the debate following the issuance of our notice, it is clear that our intervention has been taken out of context,” he said.
Read: Uproar As Chiloba Censures Six TV Stations Over Coverage of Monday Demos
He stated that it was the Authority’s responsibility to inform media houses about their broadcasting responsibilities, particularly during significant political events.
He said that this was in line with the Constitution and the Programming Code.
According to Chiloba, the Authority published such alerts in connection with the March 20 protests and the general elections in August 2022.
Chiloba said CA will respond to the issues raised in the suit once served with the court order.
Read Also: Azimio Notifies Nairobi OCS of Biweekly Protests
“The Authority reiterates its commitment to promote and protect freedom of the media at all times in accordance with the Constitution,” he said.
On Wednesday, Chiloba said the coverage of the protests depicted scenes that could frighten or agitate the public and endanger the peace and cohesion of the nation.
But, Katiba Institute maintained that CA had illegally and unconstitutionally censured the TV stations.
The case will be mentioned on May 10 for further directions.
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