Africa Brotherhood Church (ABC) Archbishop Timothy Ndambuki has condemned the television switch-off involving four mainstream media channels, terming it as a repressive act to the Kenyan citizens
Speaking during a media briefing in his offices in Machakos on Thursday morning, Ndambuki said the move was contravening the right all citizens have to information.
He also stated that majority of those facing switch off are poor Kenyans, who cannot afford to buy the Television sets that require monthly payments.
“It is a big burden to the normal average and poor Kenyan who in such a short while is forced to purchase and pay monthly to get information on the events happening in the nation. It is appropriate to go digital, but the government should give the citizens more time to prepare themselves financially,” saud Ndambuki.
Ndambuki, who is also the lower Eastern chairperson of National Church Council of Kenya (NCCK), urged the government together with the Communication Authority of Kenya (CAK), to reconsider the switch off move, as it was costing not only the Kenyan citizens, but dragging behind the Nation’s economy and development.
This follows a move by the CAK that saw four television broadcasting stations; Citizen, NTV, KTN and Qtv analogue systems switched off on the February 14.
Following the switch off, many Kenyans have been left in darkness and cannot access any local content from the broadcasting stations.