It is worrying that the police – and by extension the Kenya Kwanza administration – are reversing the freedom of press gains that Kenya had made, and the result is that the country’s ranking on the press freedom scale has been in a downward spiral.  

The government should be chastised to know that whereas Kenya was ranked 69th in the Global Press Freedom Index under the previous administration in 2022, it dropped 47 places in 2023 to stand at 116th out of 180 countries ranked globally. With the record worsening by the day, it will not come as a surprise if Kenya drops further down in the 2024 survey.

The most recent blow against press freedom came on the morning of Madaraka Day – a momentous occasion in Kenya’s historical struggle for freedom – when journalists from different media houses were blocked from entering the Raila Odinga Stadium in Homa Bay County, the venue of this year’s national celebrations.

It was as shocking as it was flabbergasting that government honchos and the police did not see the contradiction that they were throwing the country into by blocking the media from covering a national day event.  

This was unprecedented, but that is not what should worry right-thinking Kenyans.

Rather, it is that this was the second time, in as many days, that the media were being barred from covering a presidential function, an aberration made worse by the fact that some journalists were physically assaulted.

Two days earlier, journalists from KTN had been barred from State House, Nairobi, where President Ruto was hosting a joint press conference with the president of Slovenia, Natasa Pirc Musar.

Earlier, an officer attached to the President’s security detail was recorded, on several occasions, harassing photographers and blocking them from taking pictures at a public event, a clear signal, if one was needed, that the systematic harassment of journalists in the line of duty is State-sanctioned.

As the Media Council of Kenya – the industry regulator – rightly observed in its condemnation of the attacks, “the incidents highlight a concerning trend of deliberate targeting of media professionals, undermining their vital role.

Such actions violate Article 34 of the Kenyan Constitution, which guarantees press freedom”.

For the avoidance of doubt, Article 34 provides that the State shall not interfere with any person engaged in broadcasting, the production or circulation of any publication or the dissemination of information by any medium.

Whereas it is the responsibility of the State to guarantee this right, the growing intolerance towards media professionals by State agencies, especially those under the Executive, poses a threat to both democracy and public interest.

It also sends the message that the government is hiding something from the public or it is uncomfortable with scrutiny.

In its statement, the Kenya Editors Guild (KEG) rightly reminded government agencies that their regressive actions not only undermine democratic ideals but also the country’s international obligations on press freedom.

KEG also reminded State actors of the mechanisms available to those who feel aggrieved by journalists or media houses and the need to use them to avoid conflicts.

Public and State officers who have been perpetrating the attacks must be reminded that they are obligated to uphold the Constitution and avoid actions that roll back the gains that Kenya has made after many years of struggle and to honour the spirit of “internal self-rule” that is encapsulated in Madaraka Day celebrations.

The writer is the Editor-in-Chief of The Nairobi Law Monthly and Nairobi Business Monthly