Haki Africa Executive Director Hussein Khalid at a past press briefing in Mombasa. [Photo/Maxwell]
Civil society organisations in the Coast region have threatened to stage protests against the ongoing media crackdown in the country.The human rights defenders said shutting of TV stations by the government is a violation of the constitution and the right of Kenyans to access information.Speaking in Mombasa on Thursday, the activists, led by Haki Africa Executive Director Hussein Khalid said the government did not issue any proper reasons for the media crackdown. Khalid termed the crackdown as an illegal move that oppresses and threatens media freedom in the country.“We wonder if the government is aware that we have a different constitution that has constituted the issue of media freedom. Who even gave the Interior Cabinet secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i such powers?” asked Khalid.He said the country was heading in the wrong direction by returning to the old days where press freedom was unheard of.Khalid said the media should never be dragged into President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga’s battles and should instead be allowed to serve the public.“If we shut what is rightful ours as the public then we wonder who will check the government whenever it swindles those millions of shillings from the taxpayer through corruption deals. We want the three television stations KTN News, NTV and Citizen TV to be switched on,” said Khalid.The High Court in Nairobi lifted the switch off order after activist Okiya Omtata filed an urgent petition against Matiang’i’s order.The Royal Media service has also moved to court to challenge the switch off, saying that it was not issued with any notice or reasons as to why the three television stations were shut down.The shutdown comes after the three stations aired Raila’s swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday, defying a government directive not to cover the live event.