Linus Kaikai’s move to Citizen TV has fallen apart. This follows a call that was apparently made by President Uhuru Kenyatta to Citizzen TV.
According to a report appearing in a local media news channel, Business Today, President Uhuru made the call to Royal Media Services (RMS) vice-chairperson Purity Gathoni with instructions that Linus should not be hired there.
Mrs. Gathoni is also the wife to RMS owner SK. Macharia. The report says that the president was clear that kaikai should not be fired. It further reported that sate house might have had a hand in the firing of Linus Kaikai from the Nation Media Group, where he was the Manager at its TV section, NTV.
“The president was very clear. He told Mrs Macharia not to hire Kaikai and even warned there would be consequences if they did, which would mean denying the company business through advertising,” the report quoted.
The report further alleged that the intervention by the president to stop Kaikai’s move came after Kaikai had already signed the contract. He was moving in to replace Farida Karoney who was appointed as the cabinet secretary for Lands.
“The tricky bit is that Kaikai had already signed the contract. I just really don’t know how they are handling the matter now,” the report said. Bizna Kenya, though, could not vouch for the authenticity of the said report.
Kaikai has been on the spot over the recent years with the government accusing him of being an opposition sympathizer. It has also been alleged that he may have been the reason why President Uhuru skipped the presidential debate during last year’s presidential campaigns, which Kaikai was scheduled to be among the moderators.
His problems, though, reached their climax when he defied both a government directive and his employer’s order not to broadcast the mock swearing in ceremony of the the opposition leader, Raila Odinga on January 30 this year.