The Media Complaints Commission found the Nation Media Group to be non-compliant in adhering to its determination to publish the statement of adjudication as earlier given by the Commission against its breach of the Code of Conduct for the Practice of Journalism over a story it published in the stable’s Daily Nation newspaper that the Central Bank of Kenya Governor Dr Patrick Njoroge said was inaccurate.
Dr Njoroge had filed a complaint with the Commission about an article published on page 25 of the Daily Nation on 24th November 2021 titled ‘CBK boss loses bid to testify in bank suit’ which was in violation of clause I on Accuracy and Fairness as espoused in the Code of Conduct for the Practice of Journalism in Kenya as ruled by the Commission.
The Commission therefor had ordered the newspaper to publish the Commission’s statement of adjudication, which directed the newspaper to explicitly address the Governor’s concerns. The Commission had further ordered that all copies of the article accessible on any of the Daily Nation’s platforms be accompanied by an Editor’s Note reading “This story has been withdrawn by the publisher following a challenge on its accuracy”. It also directed the Editor to ensure compliance with the orders as per the responsibilities under clause 24 of the Code of Conduct for the Practice of Journalism in Kenya.
Nation Media Group stated that they did publish an apology in its Daily Nation Newspaper dated 25th October 2023 which was not based on the specific time set by the Commission. It further stated that it was not intentional or meant to contravene the terms of the final determination made on 23rd August 2022 by the Commission
The commission having found NMG non-compliant due to failure to publish the statement issued by the Commission on time, it was imposed a fine Ksh 250,000 which will then be debt to the Council and recoverable as such as stipulated in section 38(1)(f) of the Media Council Act 2023.
“The Commission strongly calls out to the Editors to be more adhering to compliance in their discharge of the responsibilities as stipulated under Clause 24 of the Code of Conduct for the Practice of Journalism. It is cautionary that they take their responsibilities seriously by maintaining high standards of journalistic integrity, failure to which may result to sanctions”, says Media Complaints Commission Chairman Mr William Oketch.