FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: APRIL 5, 2025
Kenya Editors’ Guild to Elect New Leadership as Media Faces Existential Turning Point
NAIROBI
Nairobi, April 5, 2025 — The Kenya Editors’ Guild will hold pivotal elections on Saturday, April 12, 2025, to usher in a new Executive Council at a moment of profound transformation for the media sector and the broader democratic space.
The elections, taking place during the Guild’s eighth Annual General Meeting and the third under its new constitution, come as Kenya—and the world—grapples with how to sustain independent, professional journalism amid economic turbulence, rapid digital disruption, and political volatility.
The new leadership team, to be elected at Daystar University, Nairobi Campus, Valley Road, will serve a two-year term that will run into the heart of the 2027 General Election cycle—a period in which the Guild will play a central role in ensuring media accountability, ethical reporting, and protection of press freedom.
President Zubeidah Kananu leads the outgoing Executive Council, which includes Vice President Ruth Nesoba, Council Members Millicent Awuor, Toepista Nabusoba, Linda Bach, Francis Mureithi, and Prof George Nyabuga, and Trustees Francis Openda, Martin Masai, and Arthur Okwemba. All the positions are up for contest and council members are eligible for re-election.
This year’s election is not just about leadership—it is about direction. The media sector in Kenya is at a crossroads. Faced with shrinking advertising revenues, aggressive digital competition, and job losses across newsrooms, the next Guild leadership will be tasked with reimagining the media landscape for a new era.
Among the urgent priorities for the incoming leadership will be:
- Advocating for media sustainability and equitable distribution of government advertising, to level the playing field for both legacy and emerging outlets
- Development of new regulatory approaches that protect press freedom while responding to misinformation and the changing dynamics of content production.
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- Fair compensation of news publishers by Big Tech and AI companies, to ensure creators of original journalism are not exploited in the digital economy.
- Expanding training and innovation support to help newsrooms transition to digital-first, audience-centered journalism models.In the recent years the Guild has reasserted itself as a resolute defender of media freedom, pushing back against government overreach, unlawful arrests of journalists, and threats to editorial independence. It has also deepened collaboration with development partners and critical sectors of the economy, and launched initiatives to promote impactful, ethical, and solutions-oriented journalism.
Since the establishment of a permanent secretariat in 2019, the Guild has grown its institutional capacity, expanding from a single staff member to a dynamic team of six, enabling it to manage an ambitious programme portfolio with continued donor support.
The upcoming elections will be supervised by Sophie Kaibiria, an advocate and member of the Law Society of Kenya. In the lead-up to the vote, candidates will participate in a leadership debate to present their visions and priorities to Guild members.
As the country moves towards a critical electoral season and confronts fast-moving technological and political shifts, the Kenya Editors’ Guild remains a strategic actor in safeguarding democratic values, ensuring public interest journalism thrives, and shaping the future of a free, viable, and inclusive media sector.
The Kenya Editors Guild
Issued in NAIROBI on APRIL 5, 2025
About the Kenya Editors’ Guild
The Kenya Editors’ Guild (KEG) is a not-for-profit professional organisation that brings together senior print, broadcast, digital and other electronic media editors. It seeks to: defend and promote media freedom and independence in Kenya; promote quality and ethical journalism; provide a forum for the discussion of the challenges facing the media and editors; and to network with other professional organisation,
among other imperatives.
For more details and clarifications, please contact:
Rosalia Omungo
406 Dhanjay Apartments, Hendred Road, Valley Arcade, Nairobi +254-20-2020120, +254-797956805 ; +254706965805
E-mail: info@kenyaeditorsguild.org
Website: www.kenyaeditorsguild.org
Twitter: @KenyaEditors
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KEG Election Documents
