Kisiang'ani cancels Standard Group deal over critical coverage

The government, through Broadcasting Principal Secretary (PS) Edward Kisiang’ani, on Monday cancelled Standard Group’s media contract with the Ministry of Irrigation due to its critical coverage.

SG had been selected alongside Nation Media Group (NMG), The Star, Cape Media, and government broadcaster Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) to run a campaign for the launch of the National Irrigation Sector Investment Plan (NISIP).

A letter from the ICT Ministry addressed to the Irrigation PS, Ephantus Kimotho, confirmed that the four media houses had been approved to run the campaign.

“Please note that, following administrative advice, the inclusion of Standard Media Group has been cancelled,” the letter, signed by Michael Okidi on behalf of PS Kisiang’ani, stated.

The contract for the deal was signed on March 13, 2025.

Both this publication and KTN aired their adverts Monday and were scheduled to honour the contract with a 9pm interview with PS Kimotho at KTN, which was cancelled at the last minute following the letter.

Government publication

He was also set to attend another radio interview this morning and one with the Cabinet Secretary tomorrow, in addition to airing adverts in the publication and on online platforms.

Standard’s radio stations, TV, online platforms, and this publication were to carry stories and interviews from the department as part of the campaign.

This move by Kisiang’ani comes at a time when SG, NMG and People Daily (PD) are challenging the government in court over another cancelled contract in a case filed by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK).

In this case, the three media companies are contesting the President William Ruto-led government’s decision to cancel their contract to distribute MyGov, a government publication, and award it exclusively to The Star.

The contract for the publication is held through Convergence Africa Media Limited.

MyGov is a government publication used to inform Kenyans about government projects and run advertisements, which was initiated by the Jubilee government under President Uhuru Kenyatta, with Ruto as his deputy.

The decision was communicated by former Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua on February 8, 2017, directing all PSs that the government had decided to publish its MyGov paper.

The Kinyua memo instructed all autonomous and semi-autonomous state agencies to advertise in the paper managed by the Government Advertising Agency (GAA).

After this decision, the government started running MyGov through the four daily newspapers until December 2023, when the Ruto-led Kenya Kwanza administration announced that it would be distributed through competitive bidding.

The ICT ministry subsequently directed all government agencies to run their adverts in MyGov, barring them from placing advertisements outside this exclusive deal.

In the case, LSK argued that The Star is only distributed in Nairobi, whereas Standard, PD, and Daily Nation have a national reach.

LSK’s lawyer, Peter Wanjiku, stated that the establishment of GAA and MyGov was not legally anchored, and that the government was depriving Kenyans of access to information regarding jobs and government tenders.

He also added that through this deal, the Kenya Kwanza administration was stifling the public’s ability to scrutinise and contribute to decisions.

The lobby group’s CEO, Florence Muturi, in her supporting affidavit, stated that the establishment of GAA and MyGov was never subjected to public participation or stakeholder engagement.

Justice Lawrence Mugambi, who is hearing the case, is expected to deliver his judgment on Friday this week, after postponing its delivery on 13th March, citing that it was not yet ready.

Smear Campaign

Additionally, a coordinated smear campaign against the group has emerged on social media, with falsehoods being spread about its bold journalism.

Politicians, seemingly irked by the critical coverage of issues affecting Kenyans, have been particularly vocal.

A fake letter, allegedly from the Capital Markets Authority, was circulated online yesterday, with users claiming that the authority had approved the sale of its stake to Prince Rahim Al-Hussaini.

Al-Hussaini is the Aga Khan, the leader of the Shia Ismaili Muslims and owner of NMG. Others also speculated that the media regulator, the Media Council of Kenya (MCK), had written to the group warning it over its hard-hitting headlines, attaching a fake letter to back up their claims.

Gagging the media

There were further baseless allegations that the company was being paid to publish negative stories about Kenya Kwanza, with some linking the stories to impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.

Members of Parliament, led by Kikuyu legislator and Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah, spent much of Thursday, March 6, debating how to gag journalists for their critical coverage.

Ichung’wah claimed the media was fanning “disinformation” and “misinformation” with its coverage of his bill seeking to limit the powers of Auditor General Nancy Gathungu.

Minority Leader and Suna East MP Junet Mohamed called for the MCK to regulate the media in the country.

“Mr Speaker, what kind of media is this?” he questioned.

Deputy Speaker Gladys Shollei demanded the revocation of the accreditation of journalists and media houses covering Parliament, accusing them of misreporting.

“We must begin to put pressure on them,” she added.