Kenya: Daily Nation mourns as eight columnists resign over editorial interference

Press Statement by Nation Media Group

Kenya: Daily Nation mourns as eight columnists resign over editorial interference

Nation Media Group, publishers of Daily Nation, a Kenyan national daily, has appealed to its columnists who resigned their services to the paper to reconsider their actions.

In a statement today by Clifford Mahoka, Head of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs, the publishers denied undue editorial interference stating that it “believed that the principles of independence, fairness and balance”.

Eight Daily Nation columnists terminated their services to the paper over what they term as interference in journalistic freedom by the paper’s management.

“We are aware that the singular privilege to contribute comes with the tacit compact to promote and protect intellectual freedom, freedom of expression and freedom of information, which anchor freedom of the media, “they said in a statement circulated on-line.

One of the signatories, Kwamchetsi Makokha confirmed the authenticity of the statement.

Some of the columnists have written on politics, human rights, policy and justice for the paper for over 10 years.

The statement signed by George Kegoro (Executive director Kenya Human Rights Commission), Muthoni Wanyeki (Africa Director, Open Society Foundation), Gabriel Dolan (Catholic Missionary Priest), Rasna Warah (Author), Maina Kiai (Co-director, InformAction), Gabrielle Lynch, Nic Cheeseman and Kwamchetsi Makokha said Media freedom which is an ultimate measure of country’s democracy was under threat.

A Nation editor who preferred not to be quoted commenting on the manner said the eight signatories had a similar activist background and the paper could not support their positions.

 “We are not an opposition paper but an independent one,” he said, citing the case of NASA strategist David Ndii whom he said had advocated cessation in his Saturday column.

“That is not our position but some readers thought it was,” he said.

Some of the columnists, he added, had contributed for decades and were due for replacement. “They didn’t want to wait until the hammer fell.”

 Wrote the columnists: “Two years ago, a number of us wrote to the board to express our concern about what we saw as a systematic process to constrain independent voices within the company, contrary to its stated editorial policy to promote diversity and freedom of the media”.