FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CIVIC FREEDOMS FORUM CONDEMNS ESCALATING ATTACKS ON MEDIA FREEDOM IN KENYA
Recent abduction of a senior editor, newsroom leadership changes and growing economic and legal pressures raise serious concerns about the shrinking public sphere ahead of the 2027 General Election
NAIROBI, KENYA – 2 October 2026: The Civic Freedoms Forum (CFF) is deeply concerned by the increasingly difficult environment in which journalists, editors and independent media institutions are operating in Kenya. The emerging pattern of physical attacks, intimidation, legal pressure, economic vulnerability and changes in media ownership requires urgent attention if Kenya is to safeguard the public’s right to information and ensure an open information environment ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The latest 2026 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranks Kenya 106th out of 180 countries, with a score of 50.51. Although this represents an improvement from Kenya’s 117th position in 2025, the country’s economic, political, legal and security indicators remain areas of concern. RSF specifically observes that press freedom in Kenya remains highly dependent on the political and economic context.
CFF is particularly concerned about the recent abduction of Standard Group Associate Editor Alex Kiprotich, who was reportedly seized by armed men along the Gilgil–Nakuru Road on 1 September 2026 and found safe approximately nine hours later near Masinga Dam. The Standard Group reported that the attackers questioned him about the organisation’s journalism, its sources and how its headlines are determined. The Kenya Editors Guild and other media stakeholders have called for an independent investigation and accountability.
The incident is especially disturbing because it reportedly followed an earlier attempt on Kiprotich in June 2026. The recurrence of attacks against a senior editor raises serious questions about the safety of journalists undertaking public-interest journalism and the ability of state institutions to protect media practitioners from intimidation and violence.
Ownership changes and editorial independence
CFF is also concerned about recent changes within Nation Media Group (NMG) following the acquisition of a controlling stake in the company by Tanzanian businessman Rostam Azizi, through Taarifa Ltd. The transaction involved a 54.08 percent controlling stake previously held through an investment vehicle associated with the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development. Azizi publicly pledged to uphold NMG’s journalistic standards and editorial traditions.
On 16 September 2026, NMG announced significant changes to its editorial leadership, including the movement of Editor-in-Chief Dr Joe Ageyo to NMG Uganda, while other senior editorial leaders were redeployed to Uganda and Tanzania. NMG explained that the changes followed a review of its editorial structure and evolving regional business requirements.
CFF does not presume the motives behind these management decisions. However, their timing and cumulative effect raise legitimate questions about media ownership, editorial independence and the responsibility of private-sector owners to protect the freedom of information, opinion, expression and journalism. The movement of senior Kenyan editorial leadership outside the country, particularly in the context of a major ownership transition, warrants transparent public discussion about the safeguards that should accompany ownership changes in major public-interest media institutions.
For CFF, media freedom cannot be understood solely as protection from direct government censorship. Commercial ownership structures, financial dependence, political pressure and newsroom insecurity can also affect the ability of journalists and editors to independently pursue stories in the public interest.
Economic pressure is also a press-freedom issue
The sustainability of Kenya’s media sector is another important dimension of this crisis. The Reuters Institute’s Digital News Report 2026 reported that delayed government advertising payments amounting to approximately KSh866 million, reportedly owed largely to major legacy media groups including NMG, Standard Group and Mediamax, had intensified financial pressures on the industry and contributed to cost-cutting and layoffs.
The Kenyan Parliament’s supplementary estimates also provided for KSh866 million in pending bills under the Government Advertising Agency, confirming the scale of outstanding obligations in the public advertising system.
CFF stresses that public institutions have a responsibility to meet legitimate contractual and financial obligations to media houses without discrimination or political considerations. Withholding or delaying payments owed to media organisations can have consequences far beyond commercial disputes: it can weaken newsroom capacity, undermine investigative journalism and increase the vulnerability of media institutions to political and commercial influence.
The use of cybercrime laws must not become a substitute for legitimate journalism
CFF is further concerned about the continued use of criminal and cybercrime frameworks in circumstances involving journalists and public-interest communication.
In January 2026, the Media Council of Kenya reported the release on bond of Mombasa-based photojournalist Peter Mwita Maseke, who had spent a week in custody after being charged under Section 23 of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act following a WhatsApp communication to security authorities while verifying information for a developing crime story.
At the same time, the Court of Appeal struck down several provisions of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act relating to false information, following a constitutional challenge. The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomed the decision while noting that other provisions of the law remained in force.
CFF recognises the legitimate role of cybercrime legislation in addressing genuine online offences. However, laws intended to address cybercrime, national security or other legitimate public interests must not be applied in ways that criminalise legitimate journalism, investigative reporting, criticism or the communication of information of public interest.
From pressure on newsrooms to an information blackout
The cumulative effect of these developments is particularly concerning as Kenya moves towards the 2027 General Election.
A recent Thomson Reuters Foundation assessment of threats to media freedom in Kenya identifies legal threats, journalist safety, financial sustainability, surveillance and technology-facilitated restrictions among the challenges facing the media. It specifically recommends urgent engagement to address the risk of internet shutdowns during the 2027 elections and calls for safeguards against unlawful throttling or full disruption of internet access.
Kenya has already experienced disputes over live media coverage and internet access during periods of political unrest. The experience of 2024 and 2025 demonstrates how quickly restrictions on information flows can affect the ability of journalists to report events as they unfold and the ability of citizens to independently verify competing claims.
The danger is therefore not limited to the immediate attack on one journalist or the reassignment of particular editors. When physical intimidation, economic pressure, restrictive laws, ownership changes, surveillance and restrictions on digital communication begin to converge, the space within which independent journalism operates becomes progressively narrower. From restrictions on individual journalists to restrictions on newsrooms, and ultimately to restrictions on the internet itself, the distance can be dangerously short.
CFF calls for urgent action
- The Government of Kenya and law-enforcement agencies to ensure the safety of journalists, conduct prompt, independent and transparent investigations into attacks and abductions of media practitioners, and ensure that perpetrators are held accountable regardless of their institutional affiliation.
- Media owners and boards to uphold editorial independence, establish clear safeguards against interference with newsroom decision-making, and ensure that changes in ownership do not compromise the public’s right to independent information.
- The Media Council of Kenya, Kenya Editors Guild and other media-sector institutions to strengthen collective mechanisms for journalist protection, particularly in the period preceding and during the 2027 General Election.
- The Government and public institutions to settle legitimate outstanding payments owed to media organisations transparently and without political discrimination, recognising media sustainability as an important component of a free information environment.
- Parliament and justice-sector institutions to ensure that cybercrime, national security and other laws affecting information and expression comply with Articles 33 and 34 of the Constitution and are not used to suppress legitimate journalism.
- Telecommunications companies and digital platforms to uphold human rights and resist unlawful interference with access to communications and information, particularly during politically sensitive periods.
- All media stakeholders, civil society organisations and citizens to defend the independence, safety and sustainability of journalism as a shared public good.
ENDS