The Law Society of Kenya, on Friday, sued the government for contracting the Star newspaper as its sole advertiser, hence excluding Nation and Standard from printing and distributing MyGov pullout.
LSK president, Eric Theuri, confirmed to Kenyans.co.ke that the society accused the government of monopolising information which infringes on Kenyans' rights to access critical information.
According to LSK, the decision also contravenes more than 31 Acts of Parliament including the Public Procurement Act which requires the government to publish its information on at least two national newspapers.
Through its lawyer Peter Wanjiku, LSK argued that tendering the Star only was illegal and unconstitutional as it denied Kenyans access to crucial information on jobs and govt tenders.
Theuri added that it also signified an infringement of the freedom of the press by the Kenya Kwanza government led by President William Ruto. The process was also allegedly not subjected to public participation, hence compounding the case.
Through the State Department of Broadcasting and Telecommunications, the government halted the publication and distribution of My Gov through two national newspapers, the Standard and Nation.
Among those sued in the case include Attorney General Justin Muturi, Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung'u, Broadcast and Telecommunications Principal Secretary Edward Kisiang'ani, and Convergence Africa.
In January this year, the government awarded an exclusive 2-year contract to Convergence Media, which publishes the Star newspaper, to distribute the MyGov.
PS Kisiang'ani, in a letter addressed to all PSs, CEOs and public universities disclosed that Convergence Media had won the contract after Nation and the Standard submitted higher charges.
"The terms of this contract restrict print advertisements emanating from all public institutions, save for the counties, to MyGov," Kisiang'ani stated.
"Any requests for exemptions to publish advertisements outside MyGov, on a day other than Tuesday will be directed to the Star newspaper upon authorization by this office," he added.
The move was considered harsh on other top national newspapers such as the Daily Nation and The Standard affected by diminishing advertising revenue.
PS Kisiang'ani told Kenyans.co.ke that settling on the Star was part of the government's policies to lower advertising expenditure.
