The Star Forced By The State To Retract Story About Government Spending Sh1B A Day On Covid-19

In what is yet another embarrassment for the Star Newspaper that prides itself as a leader in governance and political news in Kenya, a story has been withdrawn.

On Wednesday, the newspaper had published on its website an article that went viral saying that the government had already spent Sh40B since the first day of the coronavirus pandemic. It further started that the state was using Sh1B daily to eradicate the deadly virus.

The story, sparked a debate amongst many terming it a scam, from the looks, calls were made and the Atar was forced to withdraw the story while admitting where they erred. “The correct position is that the Treasury has allocated Sh40.3 billion to manage Covid-19 but this money has not yet been disbursed. Treasury has however already disbursed Sh13 billion for SME support and payment of pending bills.” Read part of the retracting statement.

In what again looks like a demand letter requirement, the Star apologized for the ‘mistake’. “The minister was clear that the funds were budgeted but not yet spent.  The Star regrets the error and apologises to the CS for any embarrassment caused.“ They admitted.

Though the damage has already been done, it’s unlikely that the correction will change any minds given the existing mistrust between the government and the people. This is born from the endless corruption cases and even with coronavirus there have been suspicions of possible looting of public funds.