The High Court has struck down a government directive that sought to block live broadcasting of the June 25 demonstrations, ruling it unconstitutional and unlawful. Justice John Chigiti delivered the judgment on Thursday, quashing the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) order and barring any state agency from enforcing it.
The Katiba Institute brought the case in collaboration with the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), following police raids on transmission sites of Citizen TV, NTV, and KTN that led to unlawful suspension of their free-to-air services. The CA had warned broadcasters that ignoring the directive could result in regulatory sanctions, including license revocation.
The two organizations argued before the court that the directive by CA was contrary to constitutional freedoms of expression, media, and access to information under Articles 33, 34, and 35. They also cited breaches of the right to fair administrative action and due process under Article 47 and the Fair Administrative Action Act.
The applicants pointed out that the directive ran against prior court decisions that included Republic v Chiloba 2023 and Kenya Union of Journalists v CAK 2024, where it was maintained that CAK does not have the mandate to regulate broadcast content; that is left to the Media Council of Kenya.
“The gag order endangers democratic accountability, allows unchecked police violence, and erodes Kenya’s constitutional order,” the Katiba Institute and KHRC said. They sought urgent orders to suspend the CA memo, restore broadcast services, and prevent enforcement of the directive.
The original directive had been given by CA Director General David Mugonyi, who said the live coverage of protests violated the Constitution and Section 461 of the Kenya Information and Communications Act.
“This is therefore to direct all television and radio stations to stop any live coverage of the demonstrations forthwith. Failure to abide by this directive will result in regulatory action as stipulated in the Kenya Information and Communications Act, 1998,” the order stated.
Human rights groups criticized the ban, arguing authorities intended to hide state abuses and incidents of police brutality. Soon after issuing the directive, the CA raided the Limuru transmission station, cutting free-to-air signals for major TV stations. Meanwhile, coverage on social media and satellite television platforms continued unabated.
The High Court’s ruling reinstates media freedom and the public’s right to access real-time information on demonstrations and will, in effect, deny the government the opportunity to block future live coverage.
“The High Court has allowed our judicial review application challenging the unconstitutional directive issued by the CA Kenya, which had ordered all television and radio stations to cease live coverage of the June 25 public demonstrations,” the Katiba Institute announced following the ruling.
“The judge found the directive illegal and unconstitutional, quashed it in its entirety, and prohibited the Communications Authority and any other state agency from enforcing it.”
The post Government Block on Live Broadcasts Overturned by High Court Ruling appeared first on Bossnana.
