The High Court Wednesday temporarily suspended a directive issued earlier today by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), which ordered all television and radio stations to stop live coverage of public demonstrations.
The directive, which media stakeholders say threatens press freedom and public accountability, has been suspended pending the determination of the application
The order was issued by Justice Chacha Mwita, who found that the application raises serious constitutional issues related to the Bill of Rights and media freedom.
“I am satisfied that they raise fundamental constitutional questions touching on potential violation of the Bill of Rights and freedom of the media, calling for intervention by this court,” said justice Mwita.
The court has further directed that all parties involved be served immediately via email or publishing it in live television or through newspapers
“Any Broadcasting signals that may have been switched off as a result of the referenced directive be restored with immediate effect, pending further orders of the court,” Chacha said.
In the certificate of urgency filed at the judicial review division, the petitioners claim that the CA’s directive is not only unconstitutional but also violates court precedents.
They cited previous rulings where similar actions by the Communications Authority were declared illegal and in breach of Articles 33, 34, and 47 of the Constitution.
Among the cases referenced was Republic v Chiloba, Director General Communications Authority of Kenya; Katiba Institute & 5 others (Judicial Review Application E041 of 2023), where the court held that the CA had acted illegally and irrationally by censoring television stations for airing opposition protests.
Another was Kenya Union of Journalists v Communications Authority of Kenya (Petition 501 of 2019), in which the court declared portions of the Kenya Information and Communications Act unconstitutional for assigning CA roles reserved for the Media Council of Kenya.
The petitioners argued that the new directive, coupled with reports of police raids on media transmission sites including those of Citizen TV, NTV, and KTN “violates the rules of natural justice and the right to fair administrative action.”
“The Communication Authority is not only illegal for violating the expressive constitutional and statutory provisions. It is also illegal for violating Court decisions,” read the court documents.
The petitioners, Katiba institute and Kenya human rights commission warn that such censorship not only undermines media freedom but could enable security forces to operate without accountability, endangering lives during protests.
“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,” argue the petitioners.
“The harm to the public interest is real: the urgency is self- evident.”
The respondents have since been ordered to file and serve their responses within three days of service, with rejoinders from the petitioners also due within three days thereafter.
The matter will be mentioned for directions on July 2.
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