Azimio la Umoja - One Kenya coalition has blasted the Kenya Kwanza government over their increased attack on journalists.
In a press release sent to newsrooms, National Assembly minority party leader and Ugunja Member of Parliament (MP) Opiyo Wandayi decried the spate of attacks on media by the government officials and government institutions such as the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) as well as the Media Council.
He specifically addressed the recent pressure mounted on media houses to avail footage of the police raid purported to have taken place at former Interior Cabinet Secretary (CS) home on the night of February 8, 2023.
Wandayi claimed that the move was a tactic to ensure journalists did not delve into such reporting in future.
He also alleged that the President William Ruto-led administration had threatened journalists with dire consequences for reporting on the number of deaths recorded due to famine ravaging different parts of the country.
"We expect that these threats will increase as the Kenya Kwanza regime begins to face the reality that it has failed to deliver on the populist promises made on the campaign trail and as the regime feels the pressure of Kenyans affected by the worsening economic situation in the country," the statement reads in parts.
The lawmaker underscored that such threats to the media undermined the functionality of the press and subsequently championed press freedom.
While emphasizing the key role the media plays in society, the MP called on Kenyans to view threats to the media as a threat to their own democracy.
"We urge the media both local and foreign to refuse to be cowed. We also ask Kenyans to view threats to journalists and media as a whole as threats to our struggling democracy,
"Let us all understand that this threat to the media and erosion of press freedom is a precursor to the breakdown of all other democratic institutions and principles," the statement added.
