Former Mukurwe-ini MP Kabando wa Kabando pointed out that press freedom is immune from criticism or violation.

"Kenya's media is largely a vanguard against government excesses. A blanket onslaught on media by Ruto men is very dangerous. Press freedom is sacrosanct," he said.

The former assistant minister's remarks were in response to attacks on the Media by Kericho Senator Aaron Cheruiyot.

The senator in his remarks on social media on Monday referred to the fourth estate and the banking sector as 'extremely powerful cartels' that even President William Ruto may not manage to crush. 

But Kabando reminded the senator and his Nandi counterpart Samson Cherargei that the media has over the years been a protector of the voiceless and the democratic space.

He said when political assassinations were at their peak in the country, tribal clashes, corruption scandals and detentions without trial, even government-friendly media outlets broke rank and spoke against the ills. 

Kabando echoed remarks by the Kenya Editors Guild that the senator's utterances are a direct threat to the media and an affront to press freedom. 

"This appears to be a well-choreographed scheme to profile a key pillar of Kenya's democracy and lead a lynch mob to try and cripple it," Kenya Editors Guild President Churchill Otieno said in a statement on Monday. By Emmanuel Wanjala, The Star