The New York Times has refused to apologise to President Uhuru Kenyatta over what the Presidency termed as ‘unprofessional’ reporting.
The paper had carried a controversial article regarding his ICC case which collapsed in 2014 over insufficient evidence.
In response, a statement from the Presidential Strategic Communication Unit (PSCU) said Uhuru’s vindication came late and “was accompanied by an intense propaganda effort to prejudice, profile and libel President Kenyatta in the eyes and minds of the global public.”
The PSCU went ahead to criticize the article, saying: “The New York Times continues its steady descent into the murky, rancid morass of gutter press and has abandoned all pretence of journalistic decency in pursuit of the Prosecutor’s agenda.”
However, New York Times refused to retract the article or apologise to the President, and maintained that their investigations linked Uhuru to the Mungiki sect.
Former ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo who pressed crimes against humanity charges against the President had indicated that Uhurru organized Mungiki in the attacks that saw over 1,100 Kenyans dead and scores displaced.
In an interview with The New York Times, Ocampo maintained that Uhuru was involved in the attacks.
In another interview with Paul Muite, the legal representative of the former Mungiki Leader Maina Njenga, the publication found out that all politicians from Uhuru’s Kikuyu community took an oath in 2007, including President Kibaki.
The paper also claims that Njenga dissociated from Mungiki following requests by the ICC to testify against Uhuru, further validating claims of witness interference in the case.
They said that efforts to contact the Presidency were futile, claims that were rubbished by PSCU.
