Standard Group Journalists Denied Access to State House

Standard Group journalists were on Saturday, May 31, denied access to State House to cover a visit by Slovenia President Natasa Pirc Musar.

Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, the journalists said scribes from other media houses were granted entry, but there were specific instructions to block them from going in.

This can be attributed to the fact that the Mombasa Road-based media house has constantly bashed the government through hard-hitting newspaper headlines that have ruffled feathers.Several high-ranking government officials have hit out at the media house in recent weeks, claiming they are misreporting facts and are hell-bent on tarnishing the image of the Ruto-led administration.The media house has also been known for its 'bold' newspaper headlines, a factor which prompted the withdrawal of advertising contracts.

The Standard media did not detail the main cause of the outage despite several viewers reportedly seeking to know why the stations were unavailable.

Murkomen, on March 26, lashed out at the Standard Newspaper media and social media users who have been targeting his ministry and security agencies over the security challenges in Kenya.

Murkomen, who The Standard Newspaper on Wednesday labelled a "Below Average CS" in its headline, defended the police, stating that it is easy for people to criticise them without understanding the challenges they face in safeguarding the nation.

On May 23, the Standard Media Group experienced a temporary downtime affecting its TV and radio stations, which resulted in the disruption of services.

"Standard Group radio and TV platforms temporarily off air due to a technical hitch; KTN, Radio Maisha, Spice FM, and Berur FM available online as engineers work to restore services," the Standard Media Group stated.

President Musar is expected to grace the Madaraka Day celebration on June 1, which is to be held in Homa Bay County as the Chief Guest.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Ruto and Musar's meeting focuses on economic and development cooperation, regional peace and security, and multilateral cooperation