Kenya’s leading television stations — Citizen TV, NTV, and KTN — were forcefully taken off air on Tuesday after the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) and police officers raided their Limuru transmission stations and shut down Free-to-Air broadcast signals.
The unprecedented move comes amid nationwide protests led by Gen Z demonstrators marking the anniversary of the deadly June 25, 2024 anti-government protests. The switch-off has drawn sharp criticism from media houses, civil society, and the public, with many calling it a direct assault on media freedom.
In a strongly-worded statement, Nation Media Group confirmed that NTV had been “unconstitutionally switched off” by CA. The media giant termed the action illegal and a violation of Article 34(2) of Kenya’s Constitution, which guarantees media independence.
“This action has been taken without due process, following an advisory circulated on social media by the Authority instructing all television and radio stations to cease live coverage of countrywide anti-government protests,” read the Nation Media Group statement.
“The State shall not exercise control over or interfere with any person engaged in broadcasting… or penalise any person for any opinion or content,” NMG quoted the Constitution.
KTN also confirmed the disruption, stating:
“KTN taken off-air following Communications Authority directive to halt live coverage of protests; but coverage continues on KTN News YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter platforms.”
Standard Group, the parent company of KTN, released a rebuttal emphasizing that it had not officially received CA’s directive but acknowledged seeing the widely circulated letter.
In a letter dated June 25, 2025, CA Director General David Mugonyi ordered an immediate stop to live coverage of the protests, claiming it violated constitutional and regulatory frameworks.
“The live coverage of the June 25, 2025 demonstrations is contrary to Articles 33(2) and 34(1) of the Constitution and Section 461 of the Kenya Information and Communications Act,” Mugonyi stated.
The directive warned that non-compliance would result in “regulatory action.”
This marks the first time the CA has enforced a nationwide broadcast blackout on protests, a move perceived as a sharp deviation from last year’s demonstrations, which were widely aired without government interference.
The switch-off occurred just hours after the High Court in Nairobi issued a conservatory order suspending any directive from the CA aimed at blocking media from covering the protests.
Justice E.C. Mwita, presiding over a petition filed by the Law Society of Kenya, ruled that the move violated constitutional rights and media freedom. The court ordered the restoration of any disrupted broadcast signals.
As of press time, the affected media houses had resorted to streaming protest coverage on digital platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter), in defiance of the blackout.
