A Kenyan judge tossed out the government's attempt to ban live protest coverage from broadcast stations, and the ruling shut down the whole mess that started when authorities raided transmission towers to kill signals from major TV networks. The Communications Authority tried claiming that real-time demonstration footage violated some law, but the court said blocking coverage goes against constitutional rights around free speech and public access to information.
Human rights groups took the case to court after police went after Citizen TV, NTV, and KTN by physically cutting their over-the-air broadcasts while threatening to yank licenses if stations kept filming protests. The judge agreed with arguments that the media regulator has zero authority over what gets aired since another agency handles content rules, and the decision blocks future government crackdowns on live protest reporting.
Human rights groups took the case to court after police went after Citizen TV, NTV, and KTN by physically cutting their over-the-air broadcasts while threatening to yank licenses if stations kept filming protests. The judge agreed with arguments that the media regulator has zero authority over what gets aired since another agency handles content rules, and the decision blocks future government crackdowns on live protest reporting.
