Why did ‘Nation’ miss Ojwang, medical negligence stories?
The mysterious death of teacher Albert Ojwang in a police cell has sparked widespread national outrage.
What you need to know:
- While some rely exclusively on social media, others cross-reference online and television news with print coverage, seeking deeper analysis and perspective.
- As legacy media organisations fight to maintain relevance, platform editors face a critical challenge: they must carefully balance content delivery to satisfy these diverse audience expectations without alienating their core readership or viewership.
“So, the death of Ojwang didn’t cut it? Not even a squeeze on your front page?”
This was the pointed question posed by Mr Benjamin Kiongo on X on Monday, June 9, reacting to the Daily Nation’s front-page coverage.
It was a valid question. The death of Albert Ojwang while in police custody was—and remains—the biggest story in the country.
Since the news broke on Sunday, the circumstances surrounding his arrest and subsequent death have triggered a national outcry.
Yet not only was there no mention of the incident on the Daily Nation’s front page, there was no story at all in either the Daily Nation or Taifa Leo print editions.
For readers like Mr Kiongo, the absence was glaring. While NTV covered it prominently in their bulletins and the story later appeared online, the print omission left many readers questioning editorial judgement.
In today’s fragmented media landscape, audiences have developed distinct news consumption habits.
While some rely exclusively on social media, others cross-reference online and television news with print coverage, seeking deeper analysis and perspective.
As legacy media organisations fight to maintain relevance, platform editors face a critical challenge: they must carefully balance content delivery to satisfy these diverse audience expectations without alienating their core readership or viewership.
Why, then, did the Daily Nation and Taifa Leo omit this crucial story? Was it a misjudgement? A logistical constraint? Or a failure to recognise its significance?
Washington Gikunju, Managing Editor, Publishing, provided this explanation:
“The matter of Albert Ojwang’s death while in police custody first came to the attention of the Nation Newsdesk shortly after 2pm on Sunday. The news editor on duty immediately dispatched teams to the Central Police Station in Nairobi and to Ojwang’s rural home in Homa Bay.
However, details surrounding the arrest and death were scarce and hard to verify well past 6pm. The police were uncooperative, and the family had limited information.
“The Nation only felt confident reporting after speaking with Ojwang’s father, Meshack Ojwang, who said the police claimed his son had died after hitting his head against a wall. He doubted that account, but the police stood by it.
Our reporters worked to verify the story, which cost valuable time. By the time the editorial team decided to publish, it was too late for the Monday print editions of Taifa Leo and Daily Nation. The story aired on NTV and was posted on our website shortly after 10pm, and has since been covered comprehensively across all NMG platforms.”
He emphasised the paper’s commitment to accuracy over speed.
This justification rings hollow when examining the established facts available by Sunday afternoon: Ojwang had been arrested, transported to Nairobi and died in custody—all confirmed in a police statement by 4pm.
While details about the cause of death remained contested, these verified elements alone warranted immediate coverage.
By withholding the story entirely from Monday’s print editions, the Nation failed its readers who rely on newspapers for timely, trustworthy information. On this one, the editors dropped the ball.
The Nation team has since redeemed itself with aggressive and comprehensive follow-up coverage—over 30 online articles by Wednesday, demonstrating the resources and investigative capacity that make such initial omissions more puzzling.
Through editorials, commentaries and investigative pieces, the media—across platforms—has forced action from the police, the Independent Police Oversight Authority and the government. The media spotlight leaves the killers with nowhere to hide, and hopefully, they’ll soon be smoked out.
Sh157 million for medical negligence: Another missed story
Another significant story also went unreported across all Nation Media Group (NMG) platforms last week. A court awarded Sh157 million to plaintiffs in a medical negligence case—a record-breaking judgment that drew considerable public and professional interest.
Beyond the large payout, the case sparked discussion about the legal and financial implications for medical practice and hospital insurance. It was undoubtedly a matter of public interest. Yet the story was nowhere to be found in Daily Nation, Taifa Leo, NTV, or the website.
Some readers asked whether the omission was intentional—was the media house protecting a corporate affiliate? On social media, attention quickly turned from the court ruling to the conspicuous silence from NMG.
According to the editor, the story simply escaped the attention of the Group’s 10 court reporters—an unfortunate but not implausible reason, given the volume of daily court proceedings.
He explained: “Whenever the Nation misses an important news event, we assess whether any unique or unexplored angle remains that justifies a follow-up. In this case, we found that other media outlets had covered all major aspects of the ruling.
That said, we remain open to covering new developments such as appeals or related legal rulings.”
This explanation raises another issue. The NMG Editorial Policy and Guidelines place the public interest at the core of story selection, stating: “We nurture a rigorous discipline requiring the selection of content purely on the basis of its inherent news value and not to appease, augment or respond to political, commercial or any other interests.”
In this context, a precedent-setting medical negligence award worth Sh157 million certainly met the “so what?” threshold.
Missing it—not just in print but across all platforms—dents the Nation's credibility as a paper of record. It undermines the implicit social contract between it and its readers, who expect timely, relevant and trustworthy reporting to help them make sense of the world around them.
The Nation has since published a detailed analysis of the case by Dr Nelly Bosire in the HealthyNation pullout (Tuesday, June 10, 2025), offering welcome insight—but unfortunately, too late in the news cycle to set the agenda.
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