Presidential candidates Abduba Dida, James ole Kiyapi, Uhuru Kenyatta, Peter Kenneth, Musalia Mudavadi, Martha Karua, Raila Odinga and Paul Muite during their debate ahead of the March 4, 2013 general election. [Photo/The Star]President Uhuru Kenyatta has repeatedly stated that he will not feature on the proposed televised presidential debate set for Monday, July 24 by the Debate Media Limited(DML).
The senior messaging director Eric Ng'eno claimed that the main reason behind Uhuru's decline to attend the debate was NASA, whom he accused of cordinating with 'media cartels' to paint Uhuru badly in the face of Kenyans.
"Jubilee will not participate in events run under the aegis of cartels. We know NASA is largely cartel-friendly," he said.
Ng'eno also questioned what DML seeks to gain in terms of revenue but has hidden that card under the table.
"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.
"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," he added.
Ng'eno also attacked the recent news story ran by NTV on Tuesday night that branded leaders who skipped the debate as fugitives of accountability.
"For the media to bandy accountability against a politician who endures endless blistering media coverage, just for choosing to skip a private function, is vulgar and disturbing," he said.