State House has accused the Opposition of coordinating with ‘cartel media’, one of the main reasons why President Kenyatta opted out of the initially planned debate. 7
According to senior messaging director Eric Ng'eno, the Opposition is coordinating with ‘cartel media’ who want to get profits from Kenyans.
“Jubilee will not participate in events run under the aegis of cartels. We know NASA is largely cartel-friendly,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.
Ng'eno further claimed the organisers - Debate Media Limited - agreed to extract revenue from advertising during the debates and share it among owners.
“This is why the cartel pleaded in court that they stood to earn Sh300 million from one debate. This is the only accountability question on the table,” he said.
DML earlier told a court they could lose Sh200 million advertising revenue should debates not take place and another Sh100 million investment.
“The presidential debate was a matter of profit for owners of Debate Media. They agreed that they would claim rights to all presidential debates in Kenya,”.
"...anyone hoping to host a debate will be given total TV blackout. Cartels in every sector have paralysed the economy, denying Kenyans the benefits of economic growth by flexing the power of capital,”
Both Odinga and Kenyatta said they will not take part in the debate, saying they were not consulted.
However, Raila indicated that he is ready to debate with Uhuru as part of preparations for the much awaited general election.
Through his adviser Salim Lone, Raila told the President it is not too late to reach an agreement.