CS Kuria says he will not apologize for attack on media

CS Kuria on Sunday attacked the Nation Media Group (NMG), labeling their journalists as "prostitutes" in what was seen as a response to an exposé NMG ran over the weekend on an oil scandal allegedly orchestrated by his ministry.

He even made a roadside declaration ordering government agencies to stop advertising with NMG or face dismissal.

CS Kuria told the press outside the parliament buildings on Wednesday that he has always been pro-media and has even interacted with media houses, having owned one.

He also cited a quote from Thomas Baldwin's 'The Prerogative of the Harlot,' which he compared to 'how the media operates in opposition to what true journalism is'.

"I am not apologizing and I have been a media owner before. I have been a writer in your newspapers and all that before," said CS Kuria.

"There is nobody who is pro-media more than me but I know the difference between media and what Thomas Baldwin called the prerogative of the harlot; the exercise of power without responsibility." 

Kuria has come under fire in recent days, with enraged citizens demanding an apology from him for his blatant remarks against the media.

The Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ) and the Kenya Editors' Guild issued statements condemning the CS's remarks and overall behavior as a state official.

The Kenya Editors’ Guild on its part termed Kuria’s remarks as “unwarranted, uncalled for and totally off the mark.”