The Media Council of Kenya (MCK) has cautioned politicians against turning newsrooms into "asylum centres or crime scenes," days after Mukurwe-ini Member of Parliament (MP) John Kaguchia spent the night inside Royal Media Services (RMS) offices to avoid arrest by detectives.
In a statement issued on Thursday, August 6, the Council said recent events had highlighted the need to protect the neutrality and independence of media houses, insisting that newsrooms are platforms for public discourse, not sanctuaries from the law.
"Media houses are independent platforms for public discourse, not sanctuaries from the rule of law," MCK said.
As the country heads towards the 2027 General Election, the Council urged political leaders to respect the boundaries of media institutions to safeguard press freedom and editorial independence.
The media regulator stressed that journalists and media organisations should not be drawn into political disputes or legal confrontations. "Newsrooms are not safe houses or asylum centres; public figures must vacate premises immediately after their engagements," the Council stated.
It further warned that using media houses as tactical hideouts places an unnecessary operational burden on journalists and risks creating the false perception that media organisations are accomplices in external disputes.
"While the Council fiercely defends Freedom of Speech, politicians must answer to law enforcement authorities, and outside media properties," the statement added.
The Council's remarks come after Kaguchia was arrested on Monday by Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) detectives after spending the night inside Royal Media Services (RMS).
The legislator had arrived at Inooro TV on Sunday evening for an interview on the Kiririmbi programme when several vehicles carrying armed, hooded officers reportedly surrounded the RMS premises to arrest him over alleged inflammatory remarks made during a political rally in Nyeri County on Saturday.
After learning detectives were waiting for him, Kaguchia remained inside the media house overnight, saying he feared for his safety. "I cannot present myself for abduction by hooded and heavily armed men. Considering there have been abductions in this country, those hooded men can do anything to me," Kaguchia said.
The MP also questioned why the DCI was pursuing him instead of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC). "If I made inflammatory statements as they allege, then NCIC should be summoning me, it's an independent body mandated to investigate such matters," he added.
Kaguchia was under investigation over remarks in which he allegedly threatened supporters of President William Ruto in Nyeri County, warning that anyone who voted for the Head of State would be tracked down and "smoked out" from their homes, including from under their beds.
On Monday morning, police officers and plain-clothes detectives remained outside the Citizen TV offices before the lead DCI officer was granted access to the building and took the MP into custody.
Kaguchia was later escorted to the DCI regional headquarters for questioning, and thereafter arraigned in court where he faced a charge of offensive conduct conducive to breaches of the peace under Section 94(1) of the Penal Code.
MCK has now urged all political actors to keep media houses out of legal and political confrontations, maintaining that preserving the neutrality of newsrooms will be critical in protecting press freedom as the country enters the 2027 election cycle.
