(AFMF/IFEX) – On 18 March 2006, the Parliamentary Committee on Administration of Justice and Legal Affairs (CAJLA) questioned Kenya’s Internal Security Minister John Michuki over the 1 March police raids on media outlets owned by the Standard Group, during which copies of the country’s second largest-selling newspaper, “The Standard”, were set on fire and the […]
(AFMF/IFEX) – On 18 March 2006, the Parliamentary Committee on Administration of Justice and Legal Affairs (CAJLA) questioned Kenya’s Internal Security Minister John Michuki over the 1 March police raids on media outlets owned by the Standard Group, during which copies of the country’s second largest-selling newspaper, “The Standard”, were set on fire and the television station, Kenya Television Network (KTN), taken off the air.
The minister, accompanied by Permanent Secretary Cyrus Gituai, is said to have confirmed that the raid was organised and carried out by the government. They two spent two hours with the CAJLA, chaired by lawyer and Member of Parliament Paul Muite. The CAJLA is comprised of members of Parliament.
The minister is reported to have said that the government raided the Standard Group outlets on the grounds that it had information that the media house was about to publish stories that would have affected national security.
According to the minister, the story would have linked key government figures to terrorist activities and groups. The minister also reportedly complained that the coverage of government matters by both the Standard Group and the Nation Media Group had been unfair, because most of their writers were from one region of the country.
