Uhuru kicks out journalists covering his event – VIDEO
President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday ordered journalists covering an event which he was presiding over to ‘pack up and leave.’
The incident, which happened during the launch of the Inspector General Conference at Kenya School Government, was the latest of the government’s hostility to the media.
“Sasa na nyinyi si mzime hiyo mavitu yenyu na muende. Kazi imekwisha” (Can you switch off those equipment and leave, your work here is finished),” the Head of State said moments after he finished reading his written speech.
And in a similar move, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Mataing’i also ordered journalists covering his function to leave.
Just when he was about to address stakeholders at the launch of the National Dialogue on Education Quality and Learning Outcomes in Kenya at the Radisson Blu hotel in Nairobi, Mataing’i asked journalists to remove their microphones from the podium.
Moment President Uhuru Kenyatta kicks out media from his event. #MediaShutDownKE pic.twitter.com/BLxV76Fa5t
— Kenfrey Kiberenge (@KenKiberenge) February 2, 2018
KICKED OUT
And after they delayed, he shoved them aside and started addressing the forum which had brought together education experts and World Bank officials.
As this happened, police dressed in plainclothes began shoving away journalists who were covering the event at the Communications Authority of Kenya offices in Nairobi.
The affected journalists from Nation Media Group, Standard Group and British Broadcasting Corporation, were on location to attend and cover an event where activist Okiya Omtatah claimed he was frustrated in his efforts to serve the institution with a High Court order to reopen three main TV stations forcefully shut by government this week.
Earlier in the week, journalists from select media houses were also barred from covering the return of President Uhuru Kenyatta from Ethiopia, where he had attended a Heads of State meeting.
Meanwhile, NTV, KTN News and Citizen remained off air on Friday, three days after the government switched them off despite a court order directing that they be reopened.