The High Court has temporarily suspended a directive from the Communications Authority of Kenya that sought to stop all live broadcasts of public demonstrations.

Justice Chacha Mwita in his ruling said the court was convinced the matter raised serious constitutional issues including potential violations of the Bill of Rights and media freedom.

He ordered that any broadcasting signals that may have been switched off following the directive be restored immediately pending further orders from the court.

The petitioners in the case, Katiba Institute and the Kenya Human Rights Commission argue that the CA acted unlawfully, ignoring both the Constitution and previous court rulings.

They cited earlier cases, including Republic v Chiloba and Kenya Union of Journalists v CAK, where courts ruled that the CA had overstepped its mandate by attempting to censor media coverage of protests.

Court documents accuse the Authority of violating the principles of natural justice and fair administrative action, especially in light of recent police raids on media transmission sites belonging to Citizen TV, NTV and KTN

The petitioners warn that such censorship not only infringes on media rights but also puts lives at risk by allowing security forces to operate without public scrutiny during protests.

They say the directive, if allowed to stand, would embolden what they call “trigger-happy” police officers to act without accountability

Justice Mwita has directed all parties to file and serve their responses within three days, with rejoinders from the petitioners due three days after that.

The matter is set to return to court for directions on July 2nd.