Migori Senator Eddy Oketch on Tuesday, March 18, hit out at The Standard newspaper over its recent conduct, which has ruffled feathers in government circles, terming it “unprofessional”.
Oketch, a staunch Raila ally, accused the Gideon Moi-owned newspaper of publishing headlines that have been deemed too critical of President William Ruto’s administration, with a section of politicians even describing it as sensational or tabloid reporting.
Through a statement, Oketch insisted that the language used by the publication made it unbalanced, adding that it affected The Standard’s objectivity.
“Honestly, the Standard has been very unprofessional in the last few months. Their headlines lack public accountability,” Oketch stated.
“They have a lot of “wild goose chase and hot air” language that makes them the most unbalanced newspaper,” he added.
The senator’s comments come amidst a push-and-pull between the government and the Standard that recently saw the Ministry of ICT cancel all its advertising campaigns with Standard Group following administrative advice.
In a letter seen by Kenyans.co.ke, Principal Secretary Edward Kisiang'ani excluded the media house from a previously approved list of media outlets selected for an irrigation campaign. The letter, dated March 14, reversed a decision made on March 10 regarding the National Irrigation Sector Investment Plan (NISIP) campaign.
Over the past few weeks, the Standard Newspaper has been the subject of controversy over hard-hitting headlines on senior government officials including President William Ruto.
One such headline on March 2, which read "Cunning Ruto", even prompted the President’s reaction. While speaking at Jesus Winner Ministry on the same day, he hit back at the media house, denying the claims.
Other politicians who have suffered a similar fate include Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, who were described as "Mere Flower Girls" in the 9 March issue.
The trend continued with the March 18 issue, where Ruto and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga were the recipients of another scathing headline—“Fooling Kenyans”—on the front page.
The reaction to the headlines by politicians close to the government like Oketch has been immediate with Kenyans taking to social media to debate over the headlines. Media stakeholders like the Media Council of Kenya recently flagged as fake a notice cautioning Standard and Nation over sensational headlines despite maintaining that media houses still had a responsibility to maintain professional standards. By
