Dear Mr. President, Just A Tweet? (An Open letter to the President)

President William Ruto infront of Standard Group offices with an excerpt of his tweet

By Kizito Namulanda

Dear Mr. President,

I am writing to you in two capacities – first as the Editor of KOLLEA HUB, which has just launched a journalism campaign to fight against injustices toward current and former staff of the Standard Group which owns the Standard newspaper, KTN TV, Radio Maisha, and Spice FM over the last 3 years. Secondly, as one of the victims of those injustices.

Your tweet

I was moved to write to you by your recent tweet calling out the Standard Group for forcing staff to work for months without salary. You called this slavery. Mr. President, even though this came in the heat of a public exchange between you and the Standard over its coverage, hundreds of staff who are still waiting for justice were happy to know that you are at least aware of the injustices they are enduring.

Given your access to comprehensive briefs across all strategic sectors of the country including the media, you may be fully aware of exactly what is happening at the Standard Group.

List of staff injustices

But still, please allow me to state the following Mr. President:

1. Standard Group is holding millions of shillings in salary arrears for hundreds of current and former staff. While former staff are pushing for several months of salary arrears and final dues, current staff have a cumulative 10 months of salary arrears.

2. Standard Group has for years made statutory deductions – pension, PAYE, NHIF, and NSSF from staff salaries, but failed to remit these contributions to the relevant government authorities. This is, in fact, a criminal offense under the Employment Act 2007.

3. Standard Group has deducted salaries from staff who joined savings schemes for years and failed to remit those funds to the relevant Saccos. Efforts to recover these monies have dimmed daily as Sacco officials—mostly employees of Standard Group—are reportedly intimidated into silence by their employer, the very offender they should be challenging.

4. Standard Group is yet to pay staff who were retrenched in 2023 and 2024 the severance package of 15 days’ salary for every year worked, being their final dues as stipulated in the Employment Act 2007. The Standard is yet to honor payment plans that were issued to close to 200 staff when they were retrenched more than 2 years ago.

5. Standard Group conducted retrenchments and redundancy exercises in the most inhumane way—sending home bedridden staff, some with terminal illnesses—and even with full knowledge of these cases, they have failed to pay their salary arrears and final dues to this day.

Mr. President, this is what is happening at Standard Group. It is unfair, it is inhuman, it is criminal.

This being the case Mr. President may I ask: is there anything more you are doing about the Standard Group injustices beyond your recent tweet? In your own words, you described the staff injustices at Standard Group as slavery. What should we expect from you now that you are fully briefed about this case of Kenyans facing active inhuman treatment?

Is settling staff salary arrears and final dues a priority?

The argument Standard Group often makes—that government owes it more than 1.2* billion shillings—does not hold water in the face of these injustices. First, why should Standard management always use a figure they know very well carries a star because it is contestable as a reason for not meeting its obligations? Second, is Standard Group the only media house or business entity that is owed by the government?

It is clear that in its priorities, Standard Group does not list remitting statutory deductions from staff, paying salary arrears and final dues as a priority. This explains why when it comes to other things, somehow money becomes available.

Two recent examples may be telling:

1. In April 2026, it was reported that Standard Group paid the Communications Authority 50 million shillings within two days when the authority threatened to cancel its broadcasting licenses over unpaid license fees.

2. In May 2026, Standard Group flashed out approximately 50 million shillings to a Dubai-based company to supply newsroom technology, bringing the total to 100 million shillings in less than three months.

Victim of injustices

Mr. President, as a victim, my personal experience with Standard Group is not a pleasant one. It is one that requires another full letter or a sit down to narrate it fully. It was not easy surviving after being terminated by the Standard Group in 2024 while I was out of the country for cancer treatment, and not being paid salary arrears and final dues that I so badly needed to survive. I am still pleading for my salary arrears and severance pay as I write this letter.

Is it time to lift the corporate veil?

So, Mr. President, standing on the grounds of the Kenya Employment Act 2007 and the Companies Act 2015, and recognizing that it is your duty to protect Kenyans against these types of injustices, what else can you do to protect Kenyans who are suffering for mistakes they did not commit? Is it time to lift the Standard Group’s corporate veil?

Thank you for giving me your time Mr. President.

Yours truly,

Kizito

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The writer is the Editor of KOLLEA HUB and the Lead Consultant & Founder of LANDA STORYTELLING HUB for setting and shaping narratives.