Kenya's High Court overturns Government decision to shutdown three Tv stations
Kenya's government had KTN, NTV, and Citizen TV taken off air on Tuesday morning, over plans to broadcast the unofficial inauguration of opposition leader Raila Odinga. But the country's High Court has suspended the ban for 14 days while the case is heard.
The stations still remain off-air but continue to stream their content online and there is no sign the government will comply with the ruling by the High Court.
Last year's election saw Mr Odinga losing to incumbent president, Uhuru Kenyatta and his swearing-in was widely seen as a publicity stunt though the authorities called it an act of treason.
Several opposition groups have accused the Kenyan government of violating the public's right to information about important events. Kenya's minister of information, communication and technology, Joseph Mucheru, said it was a security issue and that only the security minister could answer questions regarding when the stations would be able to broadcast again.
The government was also orders by the High Court not to interfere with the operation of KTN, NTV, and Citizen TV pending a full hearing.
In a statement by the interior ministry circulating on social media, said that broadcasting the event, which it described as an attempt to subvert or overthrow the government, would have led to the deaths of thousands of innocent Kenyans.
Local journalists called the move as outrageous and called for "respect of the constitution" and an end to the "unprecedented intimidation of journalists" in a statement. Journalists out of fear of being arrested have stayed out of their newsrooms.
The stations still remain off-air but continue to stream their content online and there is no sign the government will comply with the ruling by the High Court.
Last year's election saw Mr Odinga losing to incumbent president, Uhuru Kenyatta and his swearing-in was widely seen as a publicity stunt though the authorities called it an act of treason.
Several opposition groups have accused the Kenyan government of violating the public's right to information about important events. Kenya's minister of information, communication and technology, Joseph Mucheru, said it was a security issue and that only the security minister could answer questions regarding when the stations would be able to broadcast again.
The government was also orders by the High Court not to interfere with the operation of KTN, NTV, and Citizen TV pending a full hearing.
In a statement by the interior ministry circulating on social media, said that broadcasting the event, which it described as an attempt to subvert or overthrow the government, would have led to the deaths of thousands of innocent Kenyans.
Local journalists called the move as outrageous and called for "respect of the constitution" and an end to the "unprecedented intimidation of journalists" in a statement. Journalists out of fear of being arrested have stayed out of their newsrooms.
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