In order to give Multichoice Kenya Ltd, a subsidiary of the South African pay-TV group, exclusive broadcast rights to the presidential inauguration, William Ruto’s campaign team in Kenya forbade local media from covering the event.
KBC, the national broadcaster of Kenya, owns a small portion in Multichoice Kenya Ltd.
The contractor’s live stream will be delivered to regional broadcasters.
Although the contract’s specifics haven’t been made public, local media outlets have frequently covered presidential inaugurations on a collaborative basis without charging the government any money.
Local media outlets and journalists have protested the revelation, with the top-tier Daily Nation daily accusing the president-elect of squandering “opportunity to ascend to statesmanship.”
“The optics of giving a foreign broadcaster the sole responsibility to cover a state function are cringeworthy,” it wrote in Monday’s editorial.
Mr Ruto’s communications team has defended the decision, saying the contractor will “provide a channel for the rest of Africa”
Additionally, they claim that the local media has a bias against Mr. Ruto due to negative coverage of his campaigns and the coalition he leads, Kenya Kwanza (Kenya First).
