{"id":6271,"date":"2025-09-01T16:16:04","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T16:16:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/?p=6271"},"modified":"2025-09-01T16:23:26","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T16:23:26","slug":"tmg-news-77","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/index.php\/2025\/09\/01\/tmg-news-77\/","title":{"rendered":"“Itumbi vs. Standard: Is Kenya\u2019s Newsroom Turning into a Ballot Box?”"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n

Florence Simiyu.<\/sub><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chief of Creative Economy, Dennis Itumbi, has accused the Standard Media Group of running what he described as a biased campaign and constant attacks targeting senior government officials.In a strongly worded statement on his official X account on Sunday, August 31, Itumbi claimed the media house had abandoned its role as a credible news outlet and turned into a political platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Itumbi, a close ally of President William Ruto, alleged that the publication of \u201cfake\u201d reports by the paper was proof of unprofessionalism, terming it a major embarrassment to the journalism sector in Kenya.\u201cStandardKenya, please shut down the newsroom and convert it into a political party, then bring us your manifesto. You should also tell us which editor wants to vie for presidency. Your daily lies disguised as news are a huge embarrassment to journalism,\u201d Itumbi wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
An image of Dennis Itumbi,Head of Presidential Special Projects and Creative Economy.<\/sup><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

His remarks were a response to a headline by the Standard titled \u201cUnmoved by Outcry,\u201d which cast the spotlight on Cabinet Secretaries Aden Duale (Health), Kipchumba Murkomen (Interior), and Davis Chirchir (Transport). The three have faced sustained criticism in recent months over challenges in their ministries.Duale has been under scrutiny following fraud allegations at the Social Health Authority (SHA).Murkomen is facing pressure over the worsening security situation in parts of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chirchir has been faulted for failing to curb the rising number of road accidents.In its report, the Standard wrote:\u201cCOSTLY FRIENDSHIPS: They have survived scandals that would have sunk others \u2014 from the looting of billions under their watch, dubious fuel imports, countless road accident deaths, to grave human rights violations.\u201dIt further stated:”But Aden Duale, Davis Chirchir, and Kipchumba Murkomen have remained untouchable power brokers, shielded not by the results of their work but by their close ties to President William Ruto.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Florence Simiyu. Chief of Creative Economy, Dennis Itumbi, has accused the Standard Media Group of running what he<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6272,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n"Itumbi vs. Standard: Is Kenya\u2019s Newsroom Turning into a Ballot Box?" - Tandao Media<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Chief of Creative Economy, Dennis Itumbi, has accused the Standard Media Group of running what he described as a biased campaign.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/index.php\/2025\/09\/01\/tmg-news-77\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""Itumbi vs. Standard: Is Kenya\u2019s Newsroom Turning into a Ballot Box?" - Tandao Media\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Chief of Creative Economy, Dennis Itumbi, has accused the Standard Media Group of running what he described as a biased campaign.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/index.php\/2025\/09\/01\/tmg-news-77\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tandao Media\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-01T16:16:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-01T16:23:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/fdbaebf9-d558-4a4f-aeb7-257b9a52ba09.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1366\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Eugine Wabwile\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Eugine Wabwile\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/index.php\/2025\/09\/01\/tmg-news-77\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/index.php\/2025\/09\/01\/tmg-news-77\/\",\"name\":\"\\\"Itumbi vs. Standard: Is Kenya\u2019s Newsroom Turning into a Ballot Box?\\\" - Tandao Media\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-01T16:16:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-01T16:23:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/#\/schema\/person\/8866db1e330312ab5b45702ab4509452\"},\"description\":\"Chief of Creative Economy, Dennis Itumbi, has accused the Standard Media Group of running what he described as a biased campaign.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/index.php\/2025\/09\/01\/tmg-news-77\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/index.php\/2025\/09\/01\/tmg-news-77\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/index.php\/2025\/09\/01\/tmg-news-77\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"“Itumbi vs. Standard: Is Kenya\u2019s Newsroom Turning into a Ballot Box?”\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/\",\"name\":\"Tandao Media\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/#\/schema\/person\/8866db1e330312ab5b45702ab4509452\",\"name\":\"Eugine Wabwile\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6017ead116d9b0d954d5fd66ad832db9168f586bcd4789ea5fd9e05c9f3011d2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6017ead116d9b0d954d5fd66ad832db9168f586bcd4789ea5fd9e05c9f3011d2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Eugine Wabwile\"},\"description\":\"Eugine Wabwile is a digital journalist and columnist for Tandao Media Group.Dedicated to illuminating the intricacies of politics and current affairs, I tailor compelling narratives that shed light on both global events and individual triumphs.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.tandaomedia.co.ke\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/index.php\/author\/eugine\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\"Itumbi vs. Standard: Is Kenya\u2019s Newsroom Turning into a Ballot Box?\" - Tandao Media","description":"Chief of Creative Economy, Dennis Itumbi, has accused the Standard Media Group of running what he described as a biased campaign.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/index.php\/2025\/09\/01\/tmg-news-77\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\"Itumbi vs. Standard: Is Kenya\u2019s Newsroom Turning into a Ballot Box?\" - Tandao Media","og_description":"Chief of Creative Economy, Dennis Itumbi, has accused the Standard Media Group of running what he described as a biased campaign.","og_url":"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/index.php\/2025\/09\/01\/tmg-news-77\/","og_site_name":"Tandao Media","article_published_time":"2025-09-01T16:16:04+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-09-01T16:23:26+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2048,"height":1366,"url":"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/fdbaebf9-d558-4a4f-aeb7-257b9a52ba09.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Eugine Wabwile","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Eugine Wabwile","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/index.php\/2025\/09\/01\/tmg-news-77\/","url":"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/index.php\/2025\/09\/01\/tmg-news-77\/","name":"\"Itumbi vs. Standard: Is Kenya\u2019s Newsroom Turning into a Ballot Box?\" - Tandao Media","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-09-01T16:16:04+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-01T16:23:26+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/#\/schema\/person\/8866db1e330312ab5b45702ab4509452"},"description":"Chief of Creative Economy, Dennis Itumbi, has accused the Standard Media Group of running what he described as a biased campaign.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/index.php\/2025\/09\/01\/tmg-news-77\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/index.php\/2025\/09\/01\/tmg-news-77\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/index.php\/2025\/09\/01\/tmg-news-77\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"“Itumbi vs. Standard: Is Kenya\u2019s Newsroom Turning into a Ballot Box?”"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/","name":"Tandao Media","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/#\/schema\/person\/8866db1e330312ab5b45702ab4509452","name":"Eugine Wabwile","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6017ead116d9b0d954d5fd66ad832db9168f586bcd4789ea5fd9e05c9f3011d2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6017ead116d9b0d954d5fd66ad832db9168f586bcd4789ea5fd9e05c9f3011d2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Eugine Wabwile"},"description":"Eugine Wabwile is a digital journalist and columnist for Tandao Media Group.Dedicated to illuminating the intricacies of politics and current affairs, I tailor compelling narratives that shed light on both global events and individual triumphs.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.tandaomedia.co.ke"],"url":"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/index.php\/author\/eugine\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/fdbaebf9-d558-4a4f-aeb7-257b9a52ba09.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6271"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6271\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6276,"href":"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6271\/revisions\/6276"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tandaomedia.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}