By Khalifa Hemed
Published January 2, 2018
The United Nations has called upon Kenya to allow three television stations it shut down on January 30, 2018 to resume transmission as ordered by the High Court in the East African country.
Through its Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), UN calls upon Kenya to uphold ‘the rule of law and the rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly and political participation’.
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OHCHR says it is ‘concerned that three TV stations remain suspended for the third day today in Kenya after the Government accused them of “complicity” for airing footage of opposition leader Raila Odinga’s “inauguration ceremony”.’
“We understand that this is in spite of an interim order by a Kenyan High Court, instructing the Government to allow the TV stations to resume transmission,”
Rupert Colville, Spokesperson for the OHCHR, says. “We call on the Government to respect and implement the judicial decision. We are also concerned at the Government’s attempts to interfere with the rights to freedom of expression by reportedly warning that participation in the “inauguration ceremony” would lead to revocation of licences. Media organisations that disregarded this advice were shut down.”
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