Muturi slams govt over media blackout during Gen Z protests
By Aloys Michael, June 25, 2025Former Attorney General Justin Muturi has issued a strong rebuke against the government’s directive banning live broadcast coverage of the ongoing Gen Z-led protests, calling it unacceptable and unconstitutional.
His remarks add to the growing chorus of condemnation from legal experts, civil society, the media, and ordinary citizens who argue that the government’s clampdown on the press represents a grave threat to the country’s democratic fabric.
In a statement on his X official account on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, Muturi criticised the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), which directed all TV and radio stations to suspend live coverage of the nationwide demonstrations.
“I have seen reports that the Communication Authority has banned live broadcasts on TV and radio. Let me be clear, this is a direct assault on our constitutional order and cannot stand,” Muturi stated.
Citing specific provisions of Kenya’s 2010 Constitution, Muturi said the government was acting outside the law and undermining the fundamental freedoms enshrined in the nation’s founding legal document.
“Article 33 of the Constitution guarantees every Kenyan the right to freedom of expression. Article 34 goes even further to safeguard the independence of the media, explicitly stating that the State shall not interfere with broadcasting or penalise anyone for their opinion or its dissemination,” he noted.
Caution Govt impunity
He went on to characterize the CA’s actions as not only illegal but dangerously authoritarian in tone.
“What the Communication Authority is doing is not only unconstitutional, it is dangerous,” he warned.
“You cannot suppress the truth or silence the voices of the people by switching off the microphones and cameras.”
The former AG also questioned the timing of the broadcast ban, coming as young Kenyans mobilize across the country demanding political accountability, transparency, and reforms.
“Now, with protests happening across the country, one must ask, why now?” he posed.
Muturi issued a sharp warning to the state against any possible abuses taking place away from public scrutiny.
“If this blackout is a calculated move to conceal atrocities or to do the unthinkable under the cover of silence, let this serve as a warning: Kenyans are watching. The world is watching. Do not even think about it.”
Muturi stressed that Kenya’s democracy was built on open governance, civil liberties, and transparency and that any deviation from those principles would not go unnoticed.
“Kenya is a democratic state, not a dictatorship. Let the truth be seen and heard,” he said.