Dennis Galava: sacked for criticising Uhuru Kenyatta

A Senior Editor with the Nation Media Group in Kenya, accused of writing an editorial that heavily criticised President Uhuru Kenyatta, has been sacked.

Reports say that Dennis Galava, Special Project Editor, breached established procedure which included having the paper’s Editor-In-Chief Tom Mshindi approve the editorial, published on January 2.

But Galava was quick to point out that he was unaware of the so-called established procedure for writing editorials.

Daily Nation : sacks its editor

“I have been sacked for writing an editorial criticising the president. The reason stated is that I failed to follow established procedure in writing the editorial.

“I didn’t do anything unusual from what I normally do whenever I am writing editorials because there are no established procedures”, Galavaa maintained.

He said he had written numerous editorials before and had them published without getting approval from anyone. It was not the first time.

“I have written more than 300 editorials for the Nation. In none of them was I asked to consult anyone; this is a case of political and business expediency.”

According to him, he first received a suspension letter soon after the editorial was published to allow for investigations.

In the editorial, titled: “Mr President, Get your Act Together This Year”, Galavaa blamed rising insecurity, graft, unemployment and generally under-performing economy in 2015 on President Kenyatta’s `lackluster leadership.’

But Galavaa protested that his sacking was not justified “because I did what I have been doing for years.” He accused his employer of throwing him ‘under the bus’.

Several Kenyan journalists have criticised the sack, saying it’s aimed at muzzling the Kenyan press, viewed by many in the East African region as vibrant and robust. (