Former Kiambu Governor, William Kabogo, who is currently in the gubernatorial race through his Tujibebe Party candidacy, claims alleged blackmail from NTV after he turned down offers to air his advertisements with the station.Kabogo made his sentiments after reading malice in an article and cartoon image titled ‘William Kabogo gets carried away by his Tujibebe.’
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| Former Kiambu governor, William Kabogo |
The former governor has said his withdrawal from the deal with the media station was due to the numbers in terms of viewership and shared an invoice from NTV television station on Twitter, which had offered to run his campaign adverts at a cost of KSh 371,000.
“NTV, is this what you do when one refuses to do business with low-viewed TV?” Kabogo questioned.
Despite the agreement stating that indeed the ads were to run from the July 1, the Tujibebe party leader changed his mind on the deal.
These accusations of probable blackmail have raised concerns even as the Media Council of Kenya (MCK), had earlier cautioned against attacks on media houses by politicians.
The MCK noted that any politician who has an issue with the professionalism of media houses and accredited journalists should follow the laid down complaints procedure, as opposed to making public statements that threaten the profession
However, with the ongoing rants and biased claims against the media houses, the question is should the Media be meddling in political affairs?
MCK CEO David Omwoyo urged the media to introspect and be conscious when their audiences constantly complain about citing unbalanced coverage in the media.
Further stating that one of the steps the industry has taken to avoid perceptions of bias is to have autonomy between the editorial departments that makes journalistic decisions and the business.
“The transparency and the trust in the election process are about access to information and the integrity of that information, it is either that or not,” Omwoyo said.
