Court Rules Against Govt’s Directive Restricting Adverts To KBC

The government has suffered yet another setback after the high court annulled the government’s decision to channel all advertisements exclusively through the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) is unconstitutional.

Justice Lawrence Mugambi on Thursday quashed a directive issued by ICT Principal Secretary Edward Kisiang’ani in March last year, which required all government ministries, state agencies, independent commissions, and public universities to place advertisements only with KBC.

Justice Mugambi held that the government desicion violates Articles 10 and 27 of the Constitution, which uphold principles of good governance, equality, and non-discrimination.

It was the court’s finding that Kisiang’ani acted beyond his authority, noting that such a policy decision could only be lawfully made by the Treasury Cabinet Secretary.

The court further noted that the PS had unlawfully assumed powers he did not have, rendering the directive null and void.

The court said that restricting government advertisements to a single broadcaster undermines media freedom and breaches Article 34 of the Constitution.

Adding that the move amounted to indirect control over the media and circumvented fair procurement processes.

He said that excluding private media from government advertisements cannot stand constitutional scrutiny, as it is detrimental to media freedom and fair competition.