By James Murimi - Reporter
Kenya, 25 June 2026 - President William Ruto on Thursday morning escalated his war of words with The Standard Group and KANU chairman Gideon Moi, accusing the media house of hiding behind debt claims while subjecting employees to months of unpaid labour in defence of what he termed "extortion" journalism.
In a strongly worded post on his official X account, the President directly targeted Mr Moi, whose family has long been associated with the media house.
"Bro, the BILLIONAIRE you are; HIDING behind 'debts'; forcing many months' UNPAID labour slaving to defend your STANDARD headlines 'BOLD' extortion GANGSTERISM driven by GREED; is HEARTLESS to loyal workers, INSULT to journalism and BETRAYAL to free media that STANDARD once belonged," President Ruto posted.
The remarks came just hours after The Standard splashed a defiant front-page headline on Thursday declaring: "Mr President, The Standard Will Not Bow to Blackmail", signalling an escalation in the increasingly public confrontation between State House and one of Kenya's leading media houses.
The newspaper's bold response followed President Ruto's attack on Wednesday evening in which he accused The Standard of running an "extortionist propaganda" campaign against his administration and attempting to blackmail the government through sustained critical coverage.
"GMoi, your STANDARD media's five days a week EXTORTIONIST propaganda HEADLINES on me & my administration's transformative track record will get you NOTHING & NOWHERE. BLACKMAIL to yield to your GREED? NEVER. Kenya belongs to all Kenyans, not you alone. Jaribu eight days a week. Do your WORST," the President wrote.
The comments triggered an immediate response from The Standard Group, with Chief Executive Officer Chaacha Mwita rejecting the accusations and defending the company's journalism.
"The Standard is not a propaganda outlet. Our journalism is guided by facts, public interest and professional ethics," said Mr Mwita.
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The media house said criticism of government was part of its constitutional watchdog role and warned against attempts to intimidate independent journalism.
"The media's role in a democracy is to act as a watchdog. We take this responsibility seriously. We cannot celebrate the failures of leadership because when government fails, the country pays the price," the statement said.
In a sharp counterattack, The Standard accused the government of withholding KSh 1.2 billion owed to the company, arguing that the unpaid debt posed a greater threat to its operations than any allegation levelled against it.
"Lastly, the President mentioned 'blackmail' in his post. We pose: What greater form of blackmail is there than a government withholding KSh 1.2 billion that it owes us, with the apparent desire of frustrating our operations? Blackmail? We are victims of blackmail, not perpetrators," the company said.
The extraordinary exchange has thrust media freedom and government accountability back into the national spotlight, with analysts warning that the growing hostility between the administration and sections of the press could deepen concerns over the relationship between political power and independent journalism.
The public fallout now places President Ruto and The Standard on a direct collision course in a dispute likely to dominate political discourse and reignite debate over press freedom as the country edges closer to the 2027 General Election.