In a statement on Thursday, October 29, the movement’s head of communications, Pauline Njoroge, said the post did not represent its position.
“Please note that this is not our page, and its content does not represent the positions of the Linda Mwananchi Movement,” she wrote.
Njoroge said the movement’s official Facebook page is called Linda Mwananchi and has about 106,000 followers. She urged supporters to distinguish it from the account that published the boycott message.
“Our official page is Linda Mwananchi (the one with 106k followers). The fake page has the word LINDA in capital letters. We are working on verification,” she added.
The post, which presented itself as an announcement to Linda Mwananchi supporters, called for a boycott of Radio 47 and accused the station of biased coverage. It alleged that the station’s presenters, producers, and guests were unprofessional and disrespectful towards the opposition. It also claimed the station’s coverage undermined Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna and other opposition leaders.
The clarification comes a week after Njoroge defended Sifuna following his meeting with former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. In a statement on Wednesday, October 21, she criticized bloggers who had condemned the senator for meeting Gachagua, questioning their criticism of Sifuna while they continued to support President William Ruto.
Njoroge cited the 2024 Finance Bill protests as a turning point in Kenyan politics, arguing that Ruto’s and Gachagua’s positions during that period should inform how Kenyans assess their political records.
“I keep saying that the bell rang in 2024. That is where we drew the line. Wasn’t it Ruto who pushed the Finance Bill, while Gachagua opposed it? Who defended the brutality unleashed on our young people, and who spoke out against it?” she asked.
She also questioned whether Gachagua’s past remarks about the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga could be compared with those made by Ruto and accused critics of applying different standards to political figures.
“Spare us the selective outrage. You cannot support Ruto, who continues to defy our Constitution, the very thing Baba stood for; you cannot continue to support Ruto, whose administration has overseen the killing, maiming, and abduction of Kenyans, while acting as though meeting Gachagua is an unforgivable offense,” she said.
Leave a Reply