Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga has formally written to the Media Council of Kenya, officially lodging complaints over reports by KTN and The Standard concerning violence witnessed in Homa Bay on August 16 during the Linda Mwananchi rally.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

In a letter seen by this publication, Wanga accused the Mombasa Road-based media house of publishing and broadcasting what she described as fabricated, unverified and highly prejudicial allegations that portrayed her administration negatively.

According to Wanga, the reports on the violence aired on KTN on Sunday, September 6, and written in the Standard newspaper on Monday, September 7, contained fabricated stories that portrayed her negatively.

The Governor said her complaint was not aimed at restricting legitimate media scrutiny but at what she termed a failure by the media houses to independently verify serious allegations before presenting them to the public.

📌 What You Need to Know

"I am writing to formally bring to the attention of the Media Council of Kenya a broadcast aired by KTN on September 6 2026 and published in the Standard Newspaper on September 7 2026 concerning the events of August 16 2026 in Homa Bay. The report made and ventilated fabricated, unverified, and highly prejudicial allegations that directly assailed my character and the integrity of the office I serve," Wanga stated.

"My concern is not with legitimate media scrutiny; I welcome accountability and open public discourse. However, KTN and the Standard severely violated basic journalistic standards by presenting unverified allegations in a manner that creates a false and deliberate impression," she added.

The Homa Bay County boss specifically took issue with a photograph published on the front page of The Standard on September 7 showing an armed man wielding a machete.

Wanga alleges that the man has been identified as a Siaya County employee, stating that his presence at the scene of the Homa Bay conflict raised questions about the involvement of external actors.

She accused the newspaper of using the photograph in a manner that created a misleading impression about responsibility for the violence.

“The presence of a weapon-wielding officer from a neighbouring county at the scene of the conflict in Homa Bay clearly demonstrates that these acts were perpetrated by external agents,” Wanga claimed.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke