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Privately owned media houses have continued to dominate the media landscape in Kenya. This has had a knock-on effect on free speech with the said media houses wittingly or unwittingly defending various business interests.

 “Most media houses in Kenya are owned by powerful politicians so journalists have no freedom to report stories that touch on them negatively. Editorial independence is no longer respected. Journalists have always been force to publish stories in favor of allies,” noted Charles Ogallo, a journalist with Cross newspaper.

Ogallo further noted that media houses in the east African nation are so dependent on advertising for survival. This has had a downside to it. [Advertisers] have always affected our content. We cannot publish against them.''

George Githii, a former journalist with Daily Nation newspaper, shares the same thought.  “I left my job at the Nation newspaper because of the interference with my work,” he said, adding, “The newspaper owners would always force me to suppress stories more especially when the story was against their advertisers. This is not in line with journalism codes of ethics that I uphold.”

Daily Nation is one of the several English titles under media conglomerate Nation Media Group. Businessman Aga Khan owns the group whose interests span medical, finance and hospitality sectors to mention but three.

A worker at the state-owned Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, who preferred anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, told us thus: ''We only do press release journalism and what the government wants us to broadcast. The moment you publish anything against the state, you are sacked. There is no room for investigative journalism.''

Ken Kiberenge, a journalist at Daily Nation, prefers to see the glass as half full. He said that journalistic independence is no under threat. Not at least in Nation Media Group who butter his bread. “We are free to broadcast any kind of information as far as it is the truth. This is why our media stations are the most trusted in terms of content delivery.''

Samuel Kamau Macharia, the owner of the Royal Media Services, refuted claims that ownership is a major threat to media freedom in Kenya, saying it is the state that has always influenced media activities.  “The state has always jeopardised media freedom through enacting repressive laws such the Computer and Cyber Crimes 2016 that hinder media operations and those of journalists.”

However, Lydiah Gachungi, a regional expert for safety of journalists and media development for UNESCO’s regional office, says they are working with the Kenya of Journalists (KUJ) to advocate for media freedom. “Media in Kenya is under threat but we are working with KUJ, government and other agencies to see that media is independent. Journalists should also stick to the truth always whenever reporting.”

The state in Kenya owns Kenya Broadcasting Corporation. Privately owned media houses include: Nation Media Group, which owns newspapers like Daily Nation, The East African, the newsletter Taifa Leo, written in Swahili, and the television station NTV. Others are Royal Media Services that own Citizen TV and 11 radio stations, which among others include Radio Citizen, Ramogi FM, and Inooro FM. The Standard Group owns media out lets such as Kenya Television Network (KTN).  Other private media outlets in Kenya include Capital FM, East FM and Milele FM.