Civil society, Members of Parliament and human rights lobbyists have condemned the brutal destruction of Standard Group property by the Government.
They described the closure of KTN television station and burning of newspapers as a cowardly act by a desperate government and urged the media house to work round the clock and resume services even more boldly.
"That sounds like old Romania or some communist state in the former Eastern Europe and not the Kenya of today that I know," said Koki Muli, the executive director of the Institute for Education and Democracy Director.
Speaking from Kasipul-Kabondo where she had been observing the parliamentary by-election, Muli said such acts were totally unacceptable and reminded President Kibaki of his promise to expand the democratic space and free speech when he was elected.
Maina Kiai, the director of Kenya National Human Rights Commission, said he was totally convinced that police mounted the raid.
"This is a clear, conscious and deliberate attempt by the Government to try and contract the current political space," said Kiai.
He said the pattern employed by Kibaki’s government was very clear because it was systematically planned to cripple institutions that are fighting hard against corruption.
Uncompromising media house
He listed the labelling of former anti-graft czar John Githongo as a British spy, inclusion of former Director of Prosecution Philip Murgor in the Goldenberg scandal investigations, alleged corruption scandal at KNHRC and arrest of Standard journalists.
"The mistaken belief of this Government is that it can reduce the coverage of the Press by shutting one uncompromising media house," said Kiai.
Staff at the KTN offices spent the whole morning receiving visitors from all walks of life went to wish them well.
Among them were MPs Nick Salat, Moses Cheboi, Charles Keter, Paul Sang and former Mombasa mayor, Taib Ali Taib.
Taib said KTN and The Standard should respond by returning to the streets and on air as fast as possible to help Kenyans in fighting those behind the repression.
Elsewhere, Kisumu Town East MP, Gor Sunguh, visited the Kisumu Bureau and expressed outrage over the attack.
Sunguh volunteered to provide youths to protect the Kisumu office, saying the Government had taken the country back to the dark days.
The legislator condemned what he said was an attack on freedom of the press which is enshrined in the constitution.
Gross abuse of State power
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) termed the attack a gross abuse of State power. ICJ President, Justice Arthur Chaskalson, said he was shocked to learn of the attack, saying it was totally unexpected.
Justice Chaskalson, who is currently in Kenya for a meeting, said freedom of expression is a cornerstone of democracy.
He said the attack presents a serious threat to the media told other media organisations not to think they were safe.
"The attack poses a serious threat. It sends a chilling message to other media," Justice Chaskalson said at the Norfork Hotel in Nairobi.
He is in Kenya for an Eminent Jurists Panel on terrorism, counter-terrorism and human rights meeting.
The Kenya chapter of ICJ also condemned the attack. Executive director Samuel Mbithi said there was no justification for the action taken by the hooded raiders who were accompanied by the police.
He compared the gangster-style attack to what has been happening at the Mau Forest, where squatters were violently evicted and their property set on fire. Mbithi said the attack posed a serious threat on the rule of law especially due to the lack of respect for private property.
He said Kenyans wanted a more responsible Government that does not resort to the kind of attacks seen at the Standard Group headquarters and printing press. On the arrest of three Standard journalists, ICJ said they were being held unconstitutionally.
He said the length of the time they had been held was beyond what is allowed by the Constitution.
Mbithi said the media was being targeted for the critical role it played in the rejection of the Wako draft at the constitutional referendum last year.
Legal channels should have been used
And the Catholic Church termed the assault barbaric and shameful’. At the same time, the Church urged the Government to respect the freedom of the Press as a fundamental right.
Speaking on behalf of the 27 Catholic bishops, the Chairman of the Episcopal Conference, Bishop Cornelius Korir, said it was a shame that the Government could resort to such brutal attacks on the media.
"They should have used legal channels to solve the problem and we as the church strongly condemn the attack," said Korir, adding that the Government should uphold the rule of law.
"I have never witnessed such brutality on the media," he said and called on the Government to respect the freedom of expression. Korir, the Eldoret Diocese Bishop, said the media was a vital sector, which deserved respect. Also condemning the attack, the CEO of the Kenya Hotel Keepers and Caterers Association, Kabando wa Kabando, said it was sad that the illegal raid was done on a private newspaper group which employs thousands of Kenyans.
"When such issues happen, we are sending very negative messages to potential investors. This should not happen in a civilised country," said Kabando. He also called on the Cabinet ministers Mutahi Kagwe (Information and Communications) and John Michuki (National Security) to explain what they knew of the raid.
Desperation in face of rising public outrage’
Elsewhere, 30 civil society organisations called on the media to give the Government a blackout to protest at the raid on the Standard Group. Until the Government apologises to Kenyans and The Standard Group, the NGOs said, the media should give the Government a blackout.
Reading a statement, Jedidah Wahonyo of the Legal Resources Foundation, said the Kibaki administration was "a regime in retreat, bare of substantive political will and bound to even get more oppressive".
A Human rights organisation called on Kenyans to be vigilant against a resurgence of dictatorship by uniting in a grand coalition for freedom. People Against Torture further demanded the immediate release of The Standard journalists being held in police custody.
The organisation’s executive director, Njuguna Mutahi, said in a statement that the attack on the Standard Group in the pretext of instilling discipline among its journalists was an assault to those who believed in democracy.
"It is indeed sheer irresponsibility on the part of the Government to act in such a manner that so fundamentally offends reason, common sense and our collective sense of decency," he said.
He said the operation was a sign of the Government’s desperation in the face of rising public outrage. He said the attack served as a wake-up call for the civil society to reclaim its role in defence of human rights.
No words strong enough
And leader of Official Opposition, Uhuru Kenyatta, told President Kibaki to apologise to Kenyans for police raids on The Standard Group offices.
Uhuru, who visited The Standard headquarters at I&M Bank Tower along Kenyatta Avenue to assess the damage, said Kenyans expected nothing "short of his apology".
"Never again will Kenyans stand quietly and see their rights trampled on by a rogue government. Kenyans have worked too hard and suffered too much to see their democratic rights lost in this fashion. We expect nothing short of an apology," said Uhuru.
Uhuru, who was received by Board Members, summed up the events of the day as sad. Deputy Leader of Official Opposition, Bonaya Godana, and MP Marsden Madoka, accompanied him.
"There are no words strong enough to condemn the illegal, unconstitutional, undemocratic action taken against the fourth estate," stated Uhuru.
He termed the move on The Standard Group as draconian, reminiscent of a "dictatorial, tyrannical and despotic regime out to trample on the democratic rights of citizens".
"This is the most draconian occurrence since the advent of multi-partyism, taking us back a decade or two in the democratic development of Kenya," said Uhuru.
He said the Government action was connected to the arrest of three Standard’ journalists two days ago.
Uhuru expressed concern that the journalists have not been charged two days after they were arrested by the police.
