Moses Kuria, the CS for Trade and Investments, has indicated that he will not apologize for his attacks on the media, which have sparked outrage among Kenyans.
CS Kuria blasted the Nation Media Group (NMG) on Sunday, calling their journalists "prostitutes," in retaliation for an expose NMG carried over the weekend on an oil scandal allegedly organized by his ministry.
He even issued a roadside proclamation requiring government organizations to cease advertising with NMG or face dismissal.
On Wednesday, CS Kuria told the reporters outside the parliament buildings that he has always been pro-media and has even dealt with media houses, having formerly owned one.
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He also quoted Thomas Baldwin's 'The Prerogative of the Harlot,' which he related to "how the media operates in opposition to what true journalism is."
"I'm not sorry, and I've previously owned a media company." "I've been a writer in your newspapers and all that before," CS Kuria explained.
"No one is more pro-media than I am, but I know the difference between media and what Thomas Baldwin called the harlot's prerogative; the exercise of power without responsibility." he added.
Kuria has recently been criticised, with outraged residents seeking an apology for his flagrant remarks towards the media.
The Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ) and the Kenya Editors' Guild have reacted angrily to Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria's recent comments on local media.
"We would wish to remind Mr Kuria that he is now a Cabinet Secretary whose actions and utterances should promote a positive image of Kenya as a nation. In line with tenets of leadership and integrity law. His reactions to media reports regarding one of the many scandals that have hit Kenya Kwanza administration within a span of 10 months are not only an embarrassment to Kenyans, but a confirmation that his stomach is full and can belch and eventually vomit on the shoes of hungry Kenyans with impunity," the journalists' union said.
KEG sought an unconditional apology from the Trade and assurances from President William Ruto's Kenya Kwanza administration that Kuria's opinions do not represent government policy.