Linda Holt, Cocaine Haul and the Media Blackout of Her Arrest

So guys tell me. Linda Holt who is a former owner of Capital FM and the current CEO of RedSky advertising agency is said to have been arrested and arraigned in a Nairobi court on charges of possession of 6.8 grams of Cocaine worth Ksh 27,000.

Linda was arrested after several weeks sting operations by the police. She has been receiving the drugs from a Nigerian based at the Kenyan coast and since the parcel bears her name, the police intercepted it but efforts to lure her into receiving it had been futile. Details are sketchy but is said that she was arrested in possession of the 6.8 grams of Cocaine at the coast and the Nigerian contact arrested in Nairobi earlier.

The interesting part is that all Kenyan TV stations have blacked out the news of Linda Holt involvement with drugs. Linda Holt is said to own RedSky Advertising agency which handles some of the blue chips advertising needs in Kenya. Rumours are that the corporates might have prevailed on the media companies not to air the news or risk loosing adverts worth millions from the major advertisers.

TV still reach wider than print and so the sketchy print “businesswoman arrested” is just fool people. The truth is that media in Kenya is just so so corrupt.

You remember these cases?

• Royal Media Services owner being declared bankrupt and the media attempting blackout until bloggers intervened?
• Uhuru Kenyatta’s nephew Charles Ngengi Muigai wedded Daniel Chege in a first gay wedding by Kenyans in UK. The Kenyans media hunted Daniel Chege who comes from a poor Kiambu family but totally blacked out the Kenyatta family’s connection in the whole fiasco.

Linda Holt was remembered as a no nonsense former media owner was earned even the wrath of Caroline Mutoko until the latter walked out on her accusing Linda of “limiting her potential”. Linda Holt’s husband, Bob Holt, was formed Managing Director of Standard group and later served as the chairman of the same. He came to Kenya in the 1980s to manage the then Kenya Times.

RedSky handles advertising for among others, NIC Bank, DHL, Safaricom and EABL.

UPDATE: Citizen and KTN airs the story but not without removing key details about the accused.

IMG Credits: Daily Nation