Until recently Godfrey Mwampembwa was
one of Africa’s best known political cartoonists and one of the prized
assets of Kenya’s Daily Nation newspaper. When he was suddenly dismissed from the paper late last year, many were left baffled. None more so than Mr Mwampembwa himself.
Mr Mwampembwa, whose pen-name is Gado, learned of his fate from the paper’s editor-in-chief, Tom Mshindi, when he attempted to return early from sabbatical.
The Daily Nation, East Africa’s most influential newspaper, is owned
by Prince Karim Aga Khan, a British businessman and the hereditary
leader of the world’s 15 million Ismaili Shias, who confer him with
“demi-god” status. He now stands accused of acquiescing to demands from
the Kenyan government to gag the newspaper in a bid to protect his
business interests in the country. The government is by far the
country’s biggest advertiser and has the power to extend or rescind tax
breaks.
Prince Karim, whose father’s ex-wives included the actress Rita Hayworth, grew up in Nairobi and founded the Daily Nation in 1960, building it into the country’s foremost newspaper. But his vast business empire – including the Aga Khan hospital, the Serena hotel chain, insurers and a Kenyan bank – has long since dwarfed his media interests.
As his empire has grown, so, too, have his vulnerabilities. In Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni’s antagonism to Prince Karim’s media interests led to a “taming” of his newspaper the Daily Monitor.
Since November last year, a series of senior journalists have been purged from the Daily Nation as well as Gado, including a managing editor who wrote a searing New Year’s editorial attacking President Uhuru Kenyatta over his failure to tackle corruption.
The cuts have left the industry reeling, with executives and
journalists accusing the Aga Khan of scheming with the government as the
country heads into tense elections next year. Many fear that the
government is seeking to roll back hard-won freedoms.
The Aga Khan’s spokesman declined to comment, but the government denied claims of state-led pressure. “This has nothing to do with the presidency,” said Manoah Epinisu, presidential spokesman. “Anyone saying that must be absolutely mad.”
Widely regarded as Africa’s most talented satirist, Gado lampooned African politicians with merciless aplomb. But, arguably, it was his endless drawings of President Kenyatta in shackles, when he faced charges at the International Criminal Court over ethnic violence, which drew most fire. “I was told that they, the board, say you have to stop,” Mr Mwampembwa, a Tanzanian, recalled. “I was pretty much a marked man.”
His troubles escalated with the publication of a cartoon pillorying Tanzania’s then-President, Jakaya Kikwete, and he was persuaded to take time off to allow tempers to cool, before he was cut loose. But if Gado’s departure had a sense of inevitability about it, the exit of other critical journalists did not.
Denis Galava, a seasoned journalist, was the most senior editor at the paper the day he wrote his now infamous leader, a no-holds-barred open letter to the president that went viral on social media.
“We reject the almost criminal… negligence with which your government has responded to our national crises this past year,” he wrote in the 2 January editorial. “With the exception of a few family businesses and tenderpreneurs [those who win government contracts by tender] who raked in billions of shillings – thanks largely to political patronage – everyone is losing money in this country.”
Mr Galava said events took a rapid turn. “Once it started trending, I knew automatically that the political and business class would be upset,” he said. Within hours of publication, the State House, the President’s official residency, was on the phone, he said, asking: “Why is the Nation declaring war against the President on the first day of the year?”
Mr Galava was officially sacked for not following correct procedure. He is contesting his dismissal, claiming such formal procedures did not exist.
Morale at the Daily Nation plummeted amid reports of a “hit list” of undesirable reporters and editors reportedly supplied to the Aga Khan at State House in December. Three journalists were made redundant this month in a sudden move that took their superiors by surprise. They included the Sunday Nation’s news editor and the investigations editor.
Insiders privately suggest that coverage of massive corruption scandals, including allegations by the opposition that $1bn (£690m) raised by a eurobond sale remains unaccounted for, hit too close to home. Mr Galava’s affidavit purportedly includes emails from Mr Mshindi, the editor-in-chief, urging reporters to “go slow” on sensitive stories.
“The reality is that all media is under a lot of pressure from the government,” said Joseph Odindo, a former Daily Nation editor and now editor-in-chief at The Standard, owned by the family of the former president Daniel arap Moi. “There is arm-twisting, indirect pressure… on content and editorial decisions,” Mr Odindo said
Mr Mshindi said of his decision to sack Gado that “no contract is everlasting.” Accusations that management was caving in to government pressure were, he said, unfounded. “We have a very strong reputation of independence,” he said. Nevertheless, the Daily Nation is facing threats to a reputation built on coverage of events such as the state’s ruthless suppression of the pro-democracy Saba Saba riots in 1990, despite pressure from the Aga Khan’s representative to pull stories. That opened the floodgates for the critical coverage that helped usher in multiparty democracy.
Prince Karim, whose father’s ex-wives included the actress Rita Hayworth, grew up in Nairobi and founded the Daily Nation in 1960, building it into the country’s foremost newspaper. But his vast business empire – including the Aga Khan hospital, the Serena hotel chain, insurers and a Kenyan bank – has long since dwarfed his media interests.
As his empire has grown, so, too, have his vulnerabilities. In Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni’s antagonism to Prince Karim’s media interests led to a “taming” of his newspaper the Daily Monitor.
Since November last year, a series of senior journalists have been purged from the Daily Nation as well as Gado, including a managing editor who wrote a searing New Year’s editorial attacking President Uhuru Kenyatta over his failure to tackle corruption.
The Aga Khan, pictured with the former Empress of Iran Farah Pahlavi, is accused of gagging his own paper
The Aga Khan’s spokesman declined to comment, but the government denied claims of state-led pressure. “This has nothing to do with the presidency,” said Manoah Epinisu, presidential spokesman. “Anyone saying that must be absolutely mad.”
Widely regarded as Africa’s most talented satirist, Gado lampooned African politicians with merciless aplomb. But, arguably, it was his endless drawings of President Kenyatta in shackles, when he faced charges at the International Criminal Court over ethnic violence, which drew most fire. “I was told that they, the board, say you have to stop,” Mr Mwampembwa, a Tanzanian, recalled. “I was pretty much a marked man.”
His troubles escalated with the publication of a cartoon pillorying Tanzania’s then-President, Jakaya Kikwete, and he was persuaded to take time off to allow tempers to cool, before he was cut loose. But if Gado’s departure had a sense of inevitability about it, the exit of other critical journalists did not.
Denis Galava, a seasoned journalist, was the most senior editor at the paper the day he wrote his now infamous leader, a no-holds-barred open letter to the president that went viral on social media.
“We reject the almost criminal… negligence with which your government has responded to our national crises this past year,” he wrote in the 2 January editorial. “With the exception of a few family businesses and tenderpreneurs [those who win government contracts by tender] who raked in billions of shillings – thanks largely to political patronage – everyone is losing money in this country.”
Mr Galava said events took a rapid turn. “Once it started trending, I knew automatically that the political and business class would be upset,” he said. Within hours of publication, the State House, the President’s official residency, was on the phone, he said, asking: “Why is the Nation declaring war against the President on the first day of the year?”
Mr Galava was officially sacked for not following correct procedure. He is contesting his dismissal, claiming such formal procedures did not exist.
Morale at the Daily Nation plummeted amid reports of a “hit list” of undesirable reporters and editors reportedly supplied to the Aga Khan at State House in December. Three journalists were made redundant this month in a sudden move that took their superiors by surprise. They included the Sunday Nation’s news editor and the investigations editor.
Insiders privately suggest that coverage of massive corruption scandals, including allegations by the opposition that $1bn (£690m) raised by a eurobond sale remains unaccounted for, hit too close to home. Mr Galava’s affidavit purportedly includes emails from Mr Mshindi, the editor-in-chief, urging reporters to “go slow” on sensitive stories.
“The reality is that all media is under a lot of pressure from the government,” said Joseph Odindo, a former Daily Nation editor and now editor-in-chief at The Standard, owned by the family of the former president Daniel arap Moi. “There is arm-twisting, indirect pressure… on content and editorial decisions,” Mr Odindo said
Mr Mshindi said of his decision to sack Gado that “no contract is everlasting.” Accusations that management was caving in to government pressure were, he said, unfounded. “We have a very strong reputation of independence,” he said. Nevertheless, the Daily Nation is facing threats to a reputation built on coverage of events such as the state’s ruthless suppression of the pro-democracy Saba Saba riots in 1990, despite pressure from the Aga Khan’s representative to pull stories. That opened the floodgates for the critical coverage that helped usher in multiparty democracy.
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