The Sunday Standard on March 16 decided that nothing happened in the world, nothing happened in our corner of the earth, except politics. Politics and lamentations.
That is what the paper suggested with its front page. Take a look:
- Headline: “Greedy Watchdog”.
With a splash photo of Raila Odinga seemingly wagging a finger at the audience, the story piled up on Odinga over his decision to work with President William Ruto. Ruto’s administration is weighed down under one of the lowest public ratings in a generation. The Standard called out Odinga for “fully exploiting the gap”. The paper wrote: “He is wielding more power than the inner sanctum of State House and still masquerades as the opposition leader.”
Then, clockwise from top left corner, The Standard highlighted the following stories:
- “Emanyulia chronicles”, by Barack Muluka:
“We are hearing that Odera and the man he called a thief are now bosom friends. Asked, Odera says angrily, he did not go to the thief. The thief just called him.”
A cartoon above the story depicted Ruto wedding Odinga. Meanwhile, the opening sentence said: “Let us take a holiday from politics. Let me tell you, instead, about recent happenings in Emanyulia.” You could hang your hat on the irony.
- “Transparency”, by Sheila Masinde
“When oversight is lacking, and corruption diverts resources meant for public use, these services decline or fail to reach those who need them most.” This lamented about bad governance on the ground.
- “Broad-based union”, by Gitobu Imanyara
“Unlike legally recognised coalitions, this so-called broad-based government is an entity created purely for political expediency.” It was a shot at Ruto’s Raila-assisted governing.
- “Deception”, by Rev Edward Buri
“It is now very clear that the only constant in the equation of Kenya’s current crop of leading politicians is staying in power. Anything else can shift.”
- Quote, by Kipruto Kirwa
“Raila’s numbers are also diminishing because he may not bank on getting the same votes in Western and Kisii, where new forceful political players who are not happy with the distribution of positions and resources are emerging.”
- Quote, by Jermiah Kioni
“Even if you decide to abandon your colleagues, at least have the decency of informing them that you are leaving. How can you join President Ruto when we moved all over the country campaigning for you against him?”
The only outlier from politics was a single box on top right, which said, “Why Maths is part of everyday life.”
The verdict? That Sunday Standard front page lacked balance.
