Home » Media Centre » Blogs » On the Court Order and Freedom of Expression & the Media
On Thursday the courts issued an order barring public discussion on the suitability of the Deputy Prime Minister, Uhuru Kenyatta and MP William Ruto as presidential candidates. All persons and authorities are barred from discussing the matter in public until the case, brought by Kenya Youth League and Kenya Youth Parliament seeking orders to stop Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto from vying for presidency after their indictment by ICC, is heard and determined.
“In view of the fact that this court is now seized of the question whether Uhuru and Ruto are qualified or not to run for presidency, the court is now in sub judice and all persons and authorities are enjoined and should not discuss the matter in public, failure to which appropriate sanction will be taken,” stated Justice Lenaola in his ruling.
Orders barring speaking about the cases before the court, lest the court be prejudiced, are not an unusual. However in this instance the order barring public discussion on the candidature of Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto is unusual, because both are public figures holding either public or elected office, both have expressed their intention to run for president in the period following the ICC indictment, and both are in the process of holding country wide prayer-cum-campaign rallies, these elements make their candidature both a matter of public interest, and certainly public discussion.
One wonders how the prohibition of public discussion on whether Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto are qualified to run for presidency post-ICC indictment fits in with the freedom of expression and freedom media provisions in the Bill of Rights of the constitution. Article 34 (2) particularly provides that the State, of which the judiciary is a part, “shall not exercise control over or interfere with any person engaged in broadcasting, the production or circulation of any publication or the dissemination of information by any medium; or penalize any person for any opinion or view or the content of any broadcast, publication or dissemination.”
There are also issues of enforceability how exactly is the court planning to enforce the bar? Or does the order only serve to prevent the press from covering on the ongoing public debate on the two’s candidature or is it targeted towards particularly outspoken persons and authorities, that have been particularly outspoken about the suitability of Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto as presidential candidates following their indictment.
The only way in which the order makes sense would be if the two, Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto, did not posit themselves to the public as presidential candidates, then the public would have no cause to debate or discuss the suitability of their candidature. However with the two having countrywide rallies to popularize their candidature, how can the public help but discuss their suitability of their presidential candidature?
Categories: No tags
You must login to comment
There are no comments.