This archive report was first published on 27 September 2019.
On September 21, 2019, the Saturday Nation published an article by Roy Gachuhi titled 'Mariga and the blunder of venturing into the rough and tumble of politics.'
The article sparked a heated debate, with Asoka Itur describing it as an unfair attempt to rubbish football superstar McDonald Mariga's candidature in the Kibra by-election.
Dr. Itur expressed his disappointment with Mr. Gachuhi's attempt to rubbish Mariga's candidature, stating, 'I am disappointed with your attempt to rubbish the Mariga Kibra candidature. I always admired your journalistic acumen and used you as a yardstick against current fake and mainstream media. You are rightfully entitled to your opinion but, on this one, you blundered.'
However, the article raises questions about the limits of editorial freedom in opinion pieces. While opinion writers are free to express their opinions, they must do so within the bounds of the NMG editorial policy.
The NMG policy recognizes freedom of speech as a basic element of democracy but clearly differentiates opinion from news. Opinion writers are expected to provide cogent arguments, topical, issue-driven pieces that are outstanding, either for their freshness of perspective or new information.
Mr. Gachuhi's article may have teetered on the brink of overkill in his criticism of Mariga, but he remained sober and well-written. An effective opinion piece hits hard but is informed and backed by facts, not just emotion and opinion.
