Association of Media Women in Kenya has demanded Cabinet Secretary of Investments, Trade and Industry Moses Kuria to retract his derogatory remarks and apologize lest they call the president to take action on him.
Association of Media Women in Kenya (AMWIK) have joined hands with the Kenya union of
journalist(KUJ) and the Kenya Editors Guild to condemn Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria’s recent
attack on local media.
In a press statement issued, the association condemns the derogatory remarks made by the cabinet
secretary on Sunday attacking the Nation Media Group (NMG), where he took to his twitter account to
make a statement that the association believes threatens the fundamental principles of free and
independent media. The CS accused Nation Media group of being “an opposition party”
and made a declaration directed to government agencies to stop advertising with the media house,
otherwise they would risk losing their jobs.
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The attack on the media house comes after they run an investigative report exposing an oil scandal
allegedly committed by the ministry of trade. The association terms the attacks unwarranted and that
they go against the principles of democracy and the crucial role played by free media in providing
unbiased and reliable information to the public. “It is a watchdog role of media to expose corruption and
other forms of misconduct by government officials,” the association said in statement.
The association added that it is important that media practitioners are accorded with respect for the
work they do. The association further demands that the CS retracts his remarks and apologize.
“AMWIK demands that the CS immediately retracts his derogatory remarks and issues a public apology
to NMG and the entire media profession, failure to which we call on the president to take action against
the CS. We also urge all politicians, devoid of their political standing, to demonstrate respect for the vital
role that journalists and media organizations play in our society,” the association wrote in a statement.
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