MASKED GUNMEN STORM NEWSPAPER OFFICE

C O N F I D E N T I A L NAIROBI 000939

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/01/2026
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KDEM ASEC KE
SUBJECT: MASKED GUNMEN STORM NEWSPAPER OFFICE

REF: A. NAIROBI 837


B. NAIROBI 661

Classified By: A/PolCouns L. Peterson for reasons 1.4 (b,d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: A March 2 assault on a leading daily
newspaper in Kenya, undertaken with the assistance of the
police, marks a new low in the Kibaki administration,s
respect for the rule of law. The &Standard8, despite its
occasional editorial lapses, offers Kenyan readers
hard-hitting investigative reporting, sometimes coming close
to the President and his inner circle. The &Standard,s8
editors may be about to learn that the cost of exposing
official corruption in Kenya is significantly higher than
they anticipated. End Summary.


2. (U) A group of masked gunmen, apparently accompanied by
uniformed police officers, stormed the offices of Kenya,s
&Standard8 newspaper and a sister TV station, KTN, in the
early hours of March 2. The intruders damaged equipment,
confiscated computers, and burned thousands of copies of the
March 2 edition of the &Standard.8 KTN broadcasting was
disrupted. Two staff members were taken into custody, but
later released without charges.


3. (U) The Media Council, Foreign Correspondent,s
Association (FCA),and the Standard Media Group each came out
with their own statements over the course of the day
condemning the government,s actions. The Standard Media
Group (both the broadcasting and newspaper components) held a
press conference this morning decrying the government,s
actions against them and promising legal action. The Nation
Group, the number one media group in Kenya, took the highly
unusual step of issuing a midday special edition of the
country,s leading newspaper, the Daily Nation, with the
entire first three pages taken up with photos and stories on
the destruction done. A statement issued by the Embassy is
at para. 11. This statement received an extraordinary amount
of media attention. Leading TV station &Nation8 read it on
air word-for-word within five minutes of receiving it. This
led to an avalanche of requests from local and international
media (AP, Reuters) while we were still in the process of
sending the statement out to them via our regular channels.
Kenya,s Media Council and the Foreign Correspondent,s
Association (FCA) looked to us for guidance and received our
statement eagerly.


4. (C) Ambassador spoke in mid morning with &Standard8
Editor-in-Chief, Tom Mshindi, who said he believed some kind
of special police unit was involved, possibly one not
reporting directly to Police Commissioner Ali. He vowed to
take the government to court. Our calls to Presidential
Adviser Murage, Presidential Permanent Secretary Muthaura,
Police Commissioner Ali, and Information Minister Kagwe have
all gone unanswered. Aside from Kagwe disclaiming any
knowledge of the incident, as of mid-day the GOK has issued
no comment or statement.


5. (C) Events leading to the raid began February 25 when the
&Standard8 reported that President Kibaki had held as
secret meeting with opposition figure (and presidential

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hopeful) Kalonzo Musyoka. Although both men swiftly denied
the story, the GOK used the &Standard,s8 blunder to go on
the offensive. Information Minister Kagwe accused the
&Standard8 of trying "to confuse Kenyans8 and warned that
the government was increasingly concerned about &abuse of
freedom of the press.8 Security Minister Michuki (Kagwe,s
father-in-law),also warned the media of unspecified
consequences. On February 27, Presidential spokesperson
Mutua sent a remarkable letter to the &Standard8 in which
he noted &the publication of the manufactured story is an
abuse of the freedom of the press and is contrary to all
local and international journalism principles and ethics.
The story also sets a dangerous precedent whereby your paper
might in future publish a fabricated story that would lead to
a national crisis that threatens our national security and
international integrity.8 Mutua,s letter then demanded
that the Standard publish a front page retraction of the
Kibaki-Musyoka story on February 28, and went on actually to
dictate the general content and tone of the retraction
demanded by the GOK. Mutua,s ultimatum appears to have
received no answer.


6. (C) Also on February 28, two &Standard8 editors and a
journalist responded to a police summons to record statements
about the Kibaki-Musyoka story. They were immediately taken
into custody where they remain, as yet uncharged.


7. (C) The Deputy Managing Editor of the rival &Daily
Nation8 conveyed to IO his deep concerns about the raid and
his and his staff,s safety. He reported that editors of the
&Nation,8 informed of the &Standard8 raid then in
progress, holed up in their headquarters overnight fearing
they might be next.


8. (C) COMMENT: All Kenyans wish their media were more
accurate. And few condone the unfortunately rather common
practice of buying and planting stories in the papers. Yet
the thuggery displayed by the Kibaki government in response
to what was an essentially meaningless story is bound to be
widely condemned across Kenya. As &an extrajudicial
settling of scores8 ) in Tom Mshindi,s words ) this
commando-style attack by paramilitaries recalls and
replicates the excesses of the Moi years. It is fortunate
that no one was injured.


9. (C) The score the Kibaki government seeks to settle is
most likely the &Standard,s8 penchant for hard hitting
investigative reporting that often comes close to the
President and his inner circle, especially on matters of
corruption. It is that quality of reporting that sells
newspapers and wins public respect in Kenya. The editors of
the &Standard8 may be about to learn that the cost of
exposing official corruption is a lot higher than they
anticipated.


10. (C) While it is too early tell, we believe it is quite
likely that the raid was ordered by security minister
Michuki. Michuki has repeatedly demonstrated that he has
little time for legal niceties and is ready, and indeed
eager, to operate outside the law when politics so dictate.
The re-politicization and de-professionalization of Kenya,s
police and security services continue apace under his
tutelage. End Comment.


11. (U) Begin text of mission press statement:


The United States Condemns Attacks on the Media in Kenya

The United States condemns the assault early this morning
on the Standard Media Group. These acts of thuggery have
no place in an open democratic society. We note that these
attacks were preceded by threats directed against the
Standard from representatives of the Kenyan Government.

We deplore the current campaign of vilification and
harassment of selected media. Clearly, the intent is to
intimidate journalists, restrict press freedom, and deny
Kenyan citizens their right to information and opinion.

We call upon the Government of Kenya to disavow today,s
actions, identify and discipline those responsible, and
cease efforts to intimidate the media. The Government must
respect internationally accepted rules of freedom of the
press and charge or release promptly those members of the
Standard Media Group currently in detention.
BELLAMY