This archive report was first published on 24 June 2020.
Popular Journalists Lose Jobs at Royal Media Services ¶
June 24, 2020, marked a somber day for several journalists in Kenya as Royal Media Services joined the growing list of media houses to send their employees packing.
Among those affected are popular Hot 96 FM presenter Shix Kapienga, who hosted Drop Zone on the station from 7 pm to 10 pm, Monday to Thursday, and Radio Citizen presenter Syombua Osiany, who hosted Pambazuka from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m.
Unconfirmed reports also suggest that a possible firing is underway at the Standard Media Group, further exacerbating the situation in the media industry.
Just two days prior, MediaMax sent over 100 employees packing via SMS, with the media house owned by the Kenyatta family becoming synonymous with brutal forms of firing its workers.
A human resources manager, identified as Maureen Wandera, sent a text message to an employee stating, “I am contacting you with regards to the redundancy notice issued on 21st of May 2020. The notice period has expired. Unfortunately, your position has been affected by way of redundancy. I would like to invite you to Emory Hotel in Kileleshwa tomorrow, Monday 22nd at 8:55am to discuss what this means to your employment.”
