Kenyan President William Ruto accuses Standard Media of blackmail and extortion

President William Ruto publicly accused the Standard Media Group and its owner Gideon Moi of running an "extortionist propaganda" campaign against his administration. In a series of posts on X, Ruto denounced the newspaper’s headlines as blackmail intended to force political and financial concessions, urging the outlet to publish "eight days a week" if it wished to continue its attacks.

The Standard Media Group responded with a cheeky social‑media graphic portraying Ruto reading its paper and claiming overwhelming demand for an eight‑day publication schedule. The dispute also centres on unpaid government advertising debts that the media house says exceed KSh 1.2 billion, while the president’s allies allege the outlet is being used as a weapon by Gideon Moi to extract payments and political favours. The clash underscores a broader rivalry between Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza coalition and the Moi family’s KANU legacy in the Rift Valley region.