CS Kuria now wages war on the media after oil scandal exposé

Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria has started a war on the Kenyan media laced with insults and threats.

On Sunday, the CS attacked the Nation Media Group (NMG), accusing them of being “an opposition party”  before a roadside declaration directed at government agencies to stop advertising with the media house, failure to which they would be sacked.

Speaking in Embu on Sunday, Kuria said: “I want to tell Nation Media, you need to choose whether you are a newspaper, broadcasting house or an opposition party. From today, not even tomorrow, if any government department advertises with Nation Media, know you are on your way home.”

Kuria was seemingly responding to an exposé NMG ran over the weekend exposing an oil scandal allegedly orchestrated by his ministry.

Moments after his speech, he went on Twitter, where he has become known for going on rants and posting controversial takes before deleting them, to call the media house’s journalists "prostitutes", angering many Kenyans who deemed it too low and juvenile.

Ever the troll machine, on Monday morning, Kuria went ahead to share a screenshot of the real-time highlights at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), showing the media house among the top losers.

Minutes later, he shared a photo of a tender notice advertised on Monday’s Daily Nation by the Kenya Coast National Polytechnic, writing “Daily Nation Page 15. Not good.”

At press time, NMG, the Media Owners Association, the Editors Guild and the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) had yet to speak about Kuria's remarks.

The controversial CS’s war on the media comes just a month after he was thrown under the bus by the Foreign Ministry over controversial tweets he sent regarding the ongoing crisis in Sudan.

Kuria said the only solution to end the crisis is to have the African Union (AU) commission troops to bomb Sudan's capital Khartoum.

"The Sudan lesson is so simple. The community of nations should militarily invade any country where armies overthrow the government. Appeasement does not pay off. Military juntas do not become democrats because of the false principle of noninterference," he wrote, adding, "The AU can marshal a strong enough army to bomb Khartoum to smithereens."

His remarks sparked outrage from Kenyans online with some even questioning his mental soundness.

Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing'oei, disowned Kuria's comments and clarified that he made the remarks in a personal capacity and was not speaking on behalf of the State.

"The personal views expressed by Moses Kuria do not represent government policy in this complex and challenging issue. We continue to work with all parties towards a peaceful resolution of the Sudan Crisis," PS Sing'oei wrote on Twitter.

Kuria had by then already pulled down the tweet.