In a joint statement, they suggested government interference in the Nation Media Group (NMG).

NMG said it regretted the columnists’ position and it believed in “independence, fairness and balance”.

The resignations come at a time when the government has been accused of cracking down on the media.

In January, several of Kenya’s most popular TV stations, including NMG-owned NTV, were pulled off-air for their planned coverage of the mock presidential inauguration of opposition leader Raila Odinga.

Mr Odinga rejected Mr Kenyatta’s victory in elections, saying the poll was rigged.

In their resignation letter, the columnists protested against the firing of managing editor, Denis Galava, over an editorial critical of Uhuru Kenyatta’s presidency, and the refusal to renew the contract of popular cartoonist Gado, who had previously taken aim at the government.

The resignations were clearly coordinated, and bring into question the editorial independence of NMG, including the Daily Nation, Kenya’s biggest circulating newspaper, reports the BBC’s Ferdinand Omondi from the capital, Nairobi.

For decades, the Daily Nation was hailed as an authoritative and truthful newspaper, but in the last few years several of its senior journalists have either been fired or have resigned after clashing with the government, he adds.

Those who quit include George Kegoro, executive director of the Kenyan Human Rights Commission; Lynne Muthoni Wanyeki, Africa director of the Open Society Foundation, Nic Cheeseman, professor of democracy at a UK university and Rasna Warah, an author.

“I resign to protest the growing infringement on media freedom. I resign to show solidarity with the voices that have been silenced. I resign because we must live our beliefs,” Mr Cheeseman said.

The statement also alleged that the general manager of NTV station, Linus Kaikai, was fired by NMG after he “spoke of collusion between” the government and NMG’s managers to censor the mock swearing-in of opposition leader Raila Odinga.

“A worrying pattern has emerged where it appears the executive government is able to influence who works for or contributes to NMG,” the statement said.

“Censoring individual columnists signals official intolerance for dissenting views and suggests executive willingness to go to any length – even co-opting editors – to achieve its aims,” it added.

In its response, the media group said it was founded on the “bedrock” of media freedom and editorial independence.

“We wish to reiterate that overall we have honoured our obligation to respect their views, and did not tamper with their positions except to correct basic errors,” NMG said.

–

Source: BBC

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Mr. Mahama described the move as a “great show of statesmanship” in his comments on Twitter.

Great show of statesmanship.
Healing and reconciliation. Good for Kenya. pic.twitter.com/Ilq5oEcoaE

— John Dramani Mahama (@JDMahama) March 10, 2018

Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga spoke on national TV on Friday after holding their first public meeting since the poll.

President Kenyatta was sworn in for a second term last November after he won an election re-run in October, which Mr Odinga had boycotted.

In the election aftermath, about 150 people were killed and Mr Odinga subsequently swore himself in as the “people’s president” and refused to recognise election winner, Mr Kenyatta, as head of state.

They had both dismissed all calls for talks, from Kenyans and foreign diplomats but in their joint address, President Kenyatta referred to Mr Odinga as his “brother”.

Thier meeting notably occurred ahead of a visit by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who is expected to land in Nairobi for a three-day diplomatic tour.

Mr Mahama, has some stake in the matter as he led the Commonwealth observer mission to monitor the country’s polls.

He faced some ridicule and criticism after the Supreme Court overturned the results of the election following alleged malpractices, as free and fair.

Mr. Mahama, alongside other observer groups, had declared the August 8, 2017 elections which the incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta won, as free and fair, despite the irregularities alleged by Kenya’s opposition leader, Raila Odinga.

–

By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga spoke on national TV after holding their first public meeting since the poll.

About 150 people were killed in the aftermath of the disputed election.

Earlier this year, Mr Odinga swore himself in as the “people’s president” and refused to recognise election winner Mr Kenyatta as head of state.

Until now, both had dismissed all calls for talks, from Kenyans and foreign diplomats.

In their joint address, President Kenyatta referred to Mr Odinga as his “brother”.

Mr Kenyatta said: “We will begin a process of discussing what ails us and what creates division amongst us.”

Mr Odinga said it was “time to resolve our differences”.

President Kenyatta was sworn in for a second term last November. He won an election re-run in October, which Mr Odinga had boycotted.

Elections were first held in August but the courts ordered a re-run, saying Mr Kenyatta’s victory was marred by irregularities.

Mr Odinga said that nothing had been changed before the re-run.

–

Source: BBC

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[contextly_sidebar id=”8zR08lYGl1IZ4qI1XDXEgGjoD7l5c1SL”]Odinga did not take kindly to the words of a Ghanaian researcher who strongly condemned him for swearing himself in as president of the East African country.

Abeku Adams’ scathing comment under Raila Odinga’s post and self-declaration as president, did not only earn him more than 1,000 reactions, most of which were in support of his position but also resulted in him being blocked by Odinga on Facebook.

The 34-year-old commented, “Congratulations H.E Raila “Buffoon” Odinga,’president’ of ‘little Kenya’, the man who boycotted an election and won without contesting. Such a glamour of ‘idiotism’. Africa is such a mess!!… It’s the ignorance of the mad of his madness that makes madness a mysterious illness”

The comment caught the attention of many eyes, over 400 of whom made comments under Abeku’s post.

But several hours later, Abeku’s online connection with Odinga was cut off as the self-proclaimed ‘people’s President’ blocked him from seeing and commenting on his subsequent posts.

Last week, Raila Odinga, declared himself the “people’s president” at a controversial “swearing-in” ceremony in the capital, Nairobi.

Thousands of his supporters attended the event, despite a government warning that it amounted to treason.
The authorities shut down TV stations to prevent live coverage of the event.

President Uhuru Kenyatta was sworn in for a second term last November. He won an election re-run in October, but Mr Odinga boycotted it.

Elections were first held in August but the courts ordered a re-run, saying Mr Kenyatta’s victory was marred by irregularities.

Kenyatta was officially re-elected with 98% of the vote on 26 October but just under 39% of voters turned out. He was inaugurated in November.

His victory is not recognised by Mr Odinga, who argues he was elected by a small section of the country.
Mr Kenyatta also won the original election on 8 August but that result was annulled by the Supreme Court, which described it as “neither transparent nor verifiable”.

When the repeat vote was called, Mr Odinga urged his supporters to shun it because he said no reforms had been made to the electoral commission.

Correspondents say the election dispute has left Kenya deeply divided. About 50 people are reported to have been killed in violence since the August ballot.

Many have suggested that Odinga’s stance is a recipe for violent clashes in Kenya as the government says Odinga’s action is treasonable.

–

By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Thousands of his supporters attended the event, despite a government warning that it amounted to treason.
The authorities shut down TV stations to prevent live coverage of the event.

President Uhuru Kenyatta was sworn in for a second term last November. He won an election re-run in October, but Mr Odinga boycotted it.

Elections were first held in August but the courts ordered a re-run, saying Mr Kenyatta’s victory was marred by irregularities.

Holding a Bible in his right hand at a park in Nairobi, Mr Odinga declared that he was answering to a “high[er] calling to assume the office of the people’s president of the Republic of Kenya”.

People had had enough of election rigging and the event was a step towards establishing a proper democracy in the East African state, Mr Odinga told a cheering crowd.

Speaking earlier to Kenyan broadcaster KTN, Mr Odinga said his “swearing-in” was intended to “show the world that what we are doing is legal, constitutional and not something you can remotely describe as a coup”.

It was a public relations stunt that ended in disappointment for many opposition supporters, says the BBC’s Alastair Leithead in Nairobi.

Mr Odinga turned up for just 20 minutes. He signed a statement, swore an oath and left the stage, leaving his supporters wondering why it was such a low-key affair, he adds.

His deputy, Kalonzo Musyoka, was not at the event, and Mr Odinga said Mr Musyoka would be “sworn-in” at a later date.

However, his absence suggested there were divisions in Mr Odinga’s National Super Alliance, BBC correspondent says.

One of them, Larry Oyugi, said there was nothing illegal about Tuesday’s event: “We have warned the police enough and we are also going as per the constitution. The constitution of Kenya, article one, allows all Kenyans to exercise their power directly.

“This is why we are here to exercise our powers by gathering here and also article 37 allows peaceful assembly. We are citizens of this country, we are allowed to peacefully assemble here and elect our president as per the constitution.”

Police allowed the event to take place, despite warning earlier that they would prevent it from going ahead.
Three privately owned television stations – NTV, KTN and Citizen TV – went off air from around 09:10 (06:10 GMT), BBC Monitoring reports.

Citizen TV told the BBC the authorities had forced them off the air over plans to cover the gathering.
It live streamed the event on its website, and on YouTube and Facebook.

KTN viewers watched their screens fade to black as the news presenter read a statement confirming that the national communications authority was switching off the transmission.

Switching off the broadcasting signals of media organisations is unusual in Kenya, the BBC’s Anne Soy reports from Nairobi.

Threats have been made in the past and some media groups have been raided, but none have had their signal deliberately disrupted.

Kenyan journalists have denounced the move as outrageous and in a statement called for “respect of the constitution” and an end to the “unprecedented intimidation of journalists”.

There was tension in Kenya on Tuesday as some schools closed in the capital because of the event, and people did not know what to expect, our correspondent says.

Mr Kenyatta was officially re-elected with 98% of the vote on 26 October but just under 39% of voters turned out. He was inaugurated in November.

His victory is not recognised by Mr Odinga, who argues he was elected by a small section of the country.
Mr Kenyatta also won the original election on 8 August but that result was annulled by the Supreme Court, which described it as “neither transparent nor verifiable”.

When the repeat vote was called, Mr Odinga urged his supporters to shun it because he said no reforms had been made to the electoral commission.

Correspondents say the election dispute has left Kenya deeply divided. About 50 people are reported to have been killed in violence since the August ballot.

–

Source: BBC

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At least two of the victims were shot dead, reports said, while others may have been stoned to death by a mob.

Riot police were present but did not use any live rounds, a police spokesman said, blaming the deaths on the crowd.

The supporters of the opposition National Super Alliance (Nasa) had gathered to welcome home its leader, Raila Odinga, from an overseas trip.

On Monday, the Supreme Court is due to rule on the legality of last month’s re-run election, won by the incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta with 98% of the vote.

The vote was widely boycotted by the opposition and denounced by Mr Odinga as a sham. He went away on a 10-day speaking tour in Europe and America after withdrawing from the election.

On Friday, Mr Odinga’s convoy snaked through Nairobi to avoid security forces who tried to block off routes to public grounds where a rally could convene, the BBC’s Tom Oladipo reports from the city.

Demonstrators threw stones in response. A police truck was set on fire. Police spokesman George Kinoti said in a statement that officers had used only teargas and a water cannon.

“No live fire was used,” he said. “We are however aware that sections of the mobs accompanying the Nasa convoy, looted property and five persons were killed by stoning in different incidences after having been caught stealing by enraged crowds.”

Mr Odinga has called for a “national resistance movement” to “restore democracy” following last month’s vote, in which turnout was only 39%.

“Today is the day we are launching Kenya as a third republic,” he said from his car on Friday, to cheering supporters.

“What you have seen is a signal that a third liberation is coming soon,” he added.

–

Source: BBC

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Mr Odinga said his withdrawal would give the electoral commission enough time to introduce reforms that will help deliver a more credible election.

The Supreme Court annulled the result of the original 8 August poll after finding irregularities and declaring it “neither transparent or verifiable”.

[contextly_sidebar id=”3zVIpVhqXUojdWJtTkeEFFWRi1MvRKm3″]The electoral commission had declared incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta the winner.

It said Mr Kenyatta had won by a margin of 1.4 million votes.

The re-run was due to take place on 26 October, but Mr Odinga said: “After deliberating on our position in respect of the upcoming election, considering the interests of the people of Kenya, the region and the world at large, we believe that all will be best served by the party vacating its presidential candidature in the election scheduled for 26 October 2017.”

Odinga threatens re-run election boycott

Mr. Odinga in September threatened to boycott the election re-run  if he did not get “constitutional guarantees”.

He told journalists that the fresh vote must be held in an environment where everything that went wrong can be corrected.

“We know exactly what transpired in these last elections, we know what the IEBC did and we know that if we were to go back there will be no different results and that’s why will say there will be no elections on the 17 October,” he said.

–

By: BBC

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The Supreme Court annulled last month’s vote, citing irregularities. It was won by the incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta.

French firm OT-Morpho says it needs to reinstall the complex voting system for the scheduled re-run on 17 October.

But it said the “significant amount of work” cannot be finished in time.

Details of the potential delay for October’s re-run emerged in a letter from OT-Morpho to the electoral commission, obtained by Reuters news agency. An election official also confirmed the potential delay to the BBC.

The letter, dated 18 September, said two different electronic systems used in the vote would have to be reinstalled for a re-run.

More than 45,000 computer tablets were provided to Kenyan officials to identify voters – using fingerprints and photos – before allowing them to vote.

The tablets were also responsible for the secure transmission of election results, the company said in an April press release.

Irregularities in the transmission of results was one of the problems referenced by the Supreme Court when it annulled the August poll’s results. But more precise details have yet to be released ahead of the court’s full report, due on Thursday.

In addition to the technology problems, opposition candidate Raila Odinga – set to contest the election against Mr Kenyatta – has said he will not take part in the re-run unless members of the country’s electoral commission are replaced.

The commission has reportedly arranged a meeting with both candidates on Wednesday to discuss potential problems ahead of the poll.

–

Source: BBC

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Last week, the Supreme Court annulled August’s election result saying the electoral commission (IEBC) had not followed the constitution.

Incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta was declared the winner by the IEBC.

The court said a new election needs to be held by 31 October.

Speaking to journalists, Mr Odinga said that the fresh vote must held in an environment where everything that went wrong can be corrected.

“We know exactly what transpired in these last elections, we know what the IEBC did and we know that if we were to go back there will be no different results and that’s why will say there will be no elections on the 17 October,” he said.

Mr Odinga’s opposition Nasa alliance went to the Supreme Court to challenge President Kenyatta’s win arguing that the results had been tampered with during transmission from the polling stations.

They alleged that someone gained access to the IEBC’s computer servers to tweak the results in favour of Mr Kenyatta.

The court found that, among other things, the IEBC had committed “illegalities” in the transmission of results. But as it has not released its full ruling it is still not clear exactly what went wrong.

The Supreme Court said on Friday that it would make its full ruling public within 21 days.

Mr Odinga wants the IEBC to strictly follow the constitution’s guidance on conducting elections.

He also wants some of the commissioners to be sacked, alleging that they are partisan, and he is pushing for access to IEBC’s electronic voting and result transmission system.

Mr Odinga criticised the IEBC for announcing the new election date saying that opposition parties had not been consulted.

Nasa sent a letter to the IEBC arguing that the date for the fresh election “should be a product of consultation with concerned parties and not a unilateral decision”

The opposition leader alleged that the election date was set by the governing Jubilee Party.

Mr Odinga also faulted the IEBC for saying that the new election will just be between him and Mr Kenyatta. There were eight candidates on the ballot paper in August.

“The entire election was cancelled by the Supreme Court,” he said. “So it means that you do a repeat of the presidential elections afresh.”

For his part, President Kenyatta said last Friday that while he respected the court’s annulment of the election he disagreed with the decision.

Speaking to supporters later that day, at an impromptu rally in the capital, Nairobi, he described Chief Justice David Maraga as a “crook”. On Saturday he vowed to “fix” the Supreme Court if he was re-elected.

–

Source: BBC

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Last week, the Supreme Court annulled August’s election result saying the electoral commission (IEBC) had not followed the constitution.

Incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta was declared the winner by the IEBC.

The court said a new election needs to be held by 31 October.

Speaking to journalists, Mr Odinga said that the fresh vote must held in an environment where everything that went wrong can be corrected.

“We know exactly what transpired in these last elections, we know what the IEBC did and we know that if we were to go back there will be no different results and that’s why will say there will be no elections on the 17 October,” he said.

Mr Odinga’s opposition Nasa alliance went to the Supreme Court to challenge President Kenyatta’s win arguing that the results had been tampered with during transmission from the polling stations.

They alleged that someone gained access to the IEBC’s computer servers to tweak the results in favour of Mr Kenyatta.

The court found that, among other things, the IEBC had committed “illegalities” in the transmission of results. But as it has not released its full ruling it is still not clear exactly what went wrong.

The Supreme Court said on Friday that it would make its full ruling public within 21 days.

Opposition supporters celebrated the court’s annulment of August’s election result

Mr Odinga wants the IEBC to strictly follow the constitution’s guidance on conducting elections.

He also wants some of the commissioners to be sacked, alleging that they are partisan, and he is pushing for access to IEBC’s electronic voting and result transmission system.

Mr Odinga criticised the IEBC for announcing the new election date saying that opposition parties had not been consulted.

Nasa sent a letter to the IEBC arguing that the date for the fresh election “should be a product of consultation with concerned parties and not a unilateral decision”.

President Kenyatta said that though he respected the Supreme Court’s decision he disagreed with it

The opposition leader alleged that the election date was set by the governing Jubilee Party.

Mr Odinga also faulted the IEBC for saying that the new election will just be between him and Mr Kenyatta. There were eight candidates on the ballot paper in August.

“The entire election was cancelled by the Supreme Court,” he said. “So it means that you do a repeat of the presidential elections afresh.”

For his part, President Kenyatta said last Friday that while he respected the court’s annulment of the election he disagreed with the decision.

Speaking to supporters later that day, at an impromptu rally in the capital, Nairobi, he described Chief Justice David Maraga as a “crook”. On Saturday he vowed to “fix” the Supreme Court if he was re-elected.

–

Source: BBC

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