Stating the same, MCK urged scribes and the public at large to treat such claims with the contempt they deserve.
“The Media Council of Kenya disowns the correspondence and fake news circulating about the Council investigating media houses,” it said.
The fake letter dated November 4, 2024, had requested the Council to investigate The Daily Nation which is under Nation Media Group.
It went on to list several headlines claiming that therein lay the cause of the investigations.
The letter which has since been stamped as fake claimed cases of misinformation, misleading narratives and deviations
“Misinformation Surrounding the Safaricom-Neural Technologies Contract: The Daily Nation's coverage included a headline falsely suggesting that a recent contract between Safaricom and Neural Technologies has led to instances of phone hacking used for tracking and further abduction of individuals,” it read in part.
“This assertion is factually incorrect. Official documentation confirms that the Safaricom-Neural Technologies contract in question was signed in 2012, under the Late Former President Mwai Kibaki's administration during the tenure of the late former CEO Bob Collymore.”
In response to the fake letter, was another fake correspondence, allegedly written by MCK CEO David Omwoyo to ICT PS Edward Kisiang’ani, which claimed receipt of the first letter.
It claimed that misinterpretation of joint country intelligence meeting protocols, which is said to have originated from an unnamed source from the State House.
“Misrepresentation of Joint-Country Intelligence Meeting Protocols: The report on the Joint Intelligence meeting involving the US Central Intelligence Agency and the UK MI6, allegedly sourced from an unnamed "Statehouse source," raises serious ethical questions,” the fake letter stated.
“Publishing sensitive national security information without verification contravenes the ethical codes that govern journalistic practice, particularly when it endangers international relations and national security.”
The fake letter stated that the MCK has already started independent investigations.
It also contained propositions from the Council to address the broader implications of the issue.
The fake letter proposed urgent consultative meetings, strengthening oversight mechanisms, stakeholder engagements and public communication.
