The Media Council of Kenya (MCK) has asked newsrooms that reported the alleged raid on former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi’s home to apologise to Kenyans for failing to meet the accountability standards.
MCK CEO David Omwoyo has said that the media which covered the event failed to produce to provide any photos or footage of the raid denied by security agencies.
MCK had on February 11 requested media houses to provide videos and/or photos relevant to the alleged forced entry into Matiangi’s Karen home on February 9.
“Unfortunately, despite the MCK media monitoring system capturing 26 news articles by mainstream media on the event, none showed either Dr. [Matiang’i] himself or his home or even the alleged security officials. The media have failed to provide any photos or videos,” Omwoyo stated.
According to Omwoyo, mainstream ought to have apologized for misleading Kenyans.
“By failing to adhere to their own Code of Conduct and rejecting any form of peer review or established regulations and practice, the media becomes a threat to democracy and press freedom and instead become agents of impunity who are resisting any form of accountability,” said Omwoyo.
To date, no evidence has been provided either by the police officers or from Matiangi and his lawyer to unearth the real details of what unfolded in the alleged incident.
The Council however mentioned that it is committed to fearlessly defending media freedom.
“MCK reiterates that being reminded of your ethical responsibility and professional obligation to adhere to the code of ethics is not a threat to press freedom but protecting the public interest and citizen exposure to misleading media content,” Omwoyo said.
