Zubeidah Kananu re-elected as Kenya Editors Guild president in hotly contested election
Kananu narrowly defeated her closest challenger, Citizen TV’s Yvonne Okwara, by securing 72 votes against Okwara’s 58.
Zubeidah Kananu of Standard Media Group has been re-elected as the President of the Kenya Editors Guild (KEG) after a hotly contested election held virtually on Saturday.
Kananu narrowly defeated her closest challenger, Citizen TV’s Yvonne Okwara, by securing 72 votes against Okwara’s 58.
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Kananu will now serve a second two-year term and will be deputised by Radio Africa Group's Francis Openda, who was elected unopposed as Vice President.
Agnes Mwangangi of the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation won the Council Member for Radio seat, unseating Toepista Nabusoba.
Dr. Julius Bosire from the Technical University of Kenya was elected as the Council Member representing academia, edging out Nathan Masambu of Daystar University.
Several positions were filled unopposed. These include Millicent Awuor (Council Member for Television), Linda Bach (Print Representative), and Kenfrey Kiberenge (Online Media Representative).
Ruth Nesoba, Martin Masai, and Ng’ang’a Mbugua were also elected as trustees without contest.
The election process was supervised by Sophie Kalbiria, an advocate and member of the Law Society of Kenya.
The outgoing council was led by Kananu and included Vice President Ruth Nesoba and council members such as Millicent Awuor, Toepista Nabusoba, Linda Bach, Francis Mureithi, and Prof. George Nyabuga.
In a statement released ahead of the elections, the Guild acknowledged the existential challenges facing Kenyan media, including aggressive competition from digital platforms, layoffs in newsrooms, and shrinking advertising revenue.
The incoming leadership has been tasked with steering the sector toward sustainability and innovation, with priorities such as advocating for fair compensation from tech platforms, regulatory reforms to protect press freedom, and digital transformation for newsrooms.
“The Kenya Editors Guild remains committed to championing media sustainability, fair compensation for journalism in the digital economy, and the protection of press freedom,” stated the KEG.
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