Good morning,
Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot was yesterday on the receiving end over his attacks on the media.
The Kenya Editors Guild (KEG) president Churchill Otieno said Cheruiyot’s utterances were an open threat to the media and a direct affront to press freedom.
Otieno called on the Senator to approach the Media Complaints Commission should he have any competent claims against the media.
Kenya Correspondents Association (KCA) chairperson William Oloo Janak also termed the Senator’s remarks an assault on media freedom.
On Monday, there was an uproar after the Senator through his Twitter handle referred to the media as a “powerful cartel”.
“President William Ruto will succeed in crushing every cartel in the country save for two that are extremely powerful. The Kenyan Banks and the Kenyan Media. Both are very powerful, influential, and synergies so well to protect each other’s interests. For the public good, a way must be found,” he tweeted.
However, media outlets called out Cheruiyot condemning him for his tweet which they termed an affront to the freedom of the press.
Meanwhile, here are news stories making headlines on Opera News today;
President Ruto Allegedly Sends Uhuru’s Cousin Kungu Seeking a Meeting With Him, Gets This response
President William Ruto now seeks to have a sitting with former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Reliable sources have revealed that Ruto has sent Uhuru’s cousin Kungu Muigai with a message that he was seeking to meet up with him for a conversation.
However, insiders close to Uhuru revealed that the former head of state refused to meet up with Ruto.
Controller Of Budget Recalls Being Coerced to Release Sh15bn Days to Polls
Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o claims the Treasury pressured her to sign out Sh15 billion just days before the August 2022 General Election.
Appearing before the Parliamentary Public Petitions Committee on Tuesday, Nyakang’o shared what she said were text conversations between her and former Treasury CS Ukur Yatani.
She claimed she was told to approve Sh6 billion for buying Telcos and Sh.9.5 billion from the annuity fund a few days before the August 9 polls.
Ruto’s tough balancing act as Raila piles pressure with protests plan
President William Ruto is facing a tough balancing act in implementing his administration’s policies amid a restive opposition determined to erode his legitimacy and make it difficult for him to govern.
Yesterday, opposition leader Raila Odinga, who had given the President a 14-day ultimatum that ends today to, among others, open the elections servers and address the cost of living, raised the pressure as he dismissed a panel appointed to recruit new electoral commissioners.