Kenya’s largest telecommunications company, Safaricom, has suspended its advertising spending on Nation Media Group (NMG) platforms following several critical reports, according to two senior NMG executives with knowledge of the decision.
NMG-owned outlets such as Daily Nation, Business Daily, and The East African have published a series of investigative stories that have raised concerns about Safaricom’s business practices. One notable report from The Daily Nation covered an $800 million public healthcare system contract awarded to a consortium that included Safaricom and companies linked to Indian billionaire Gautam Adani. Another report explored the close connections between Safaricom’s chairman, Adil Khawaja, President William Ruto, and Adani.
However, the key factor behind the suspension of advertising appears to be a Daily Nation investigative report published on October 29, 2024. The article alleged that Safaricom had shared user data—including calls, texts, and location—without proper consent, a claim the company has strongly denied.
One week after the privacy report was published, Safaricom ran advertisements in The Standard and The Star, reaffirming its commitment to safeguarding customer privacy. These ads coincided with Safaricom’s 24th anniversary celebrations. The company also chose to publish its H1 2024 financial results in The Standard and The Star, bypassing NMG platforms for the first time since its IPO in 2008.
The advertising suspension underscores the mounting pressure on independent media outlets to either adjust their coverage or risk losing advertising revenue. Kenyan news organizations have seen a decline in ad spending as major advertisers—including banks, telcos, and government entities—cut back on their advertising budgets.
Safaricom, one of the country’s largest advertisers, allocates roughly $4.8 million (KES 619.2 million) per month to advertising. This is not the first instance of Safaricom withholding advertising in response to unfavorable coverage. While the company has typically maintained its financial disclosures in NMG publications, this marks the first time it has opted not to publish such reports with NMG.
In October 2024, Safaricom executives visited leading Kenyan newsrooms in an attempt to persuade editors and reporters to tone down critical coverage, according to a senior PR executive who spoke on condition of anonymity. The executive suggested that Safaricom, given its dominant position in the market, occasionally uses its advertising clout to influence media coverage, though the company has never publicly acknowledged suspending ads due to critical reporting.
Safaricom did not respond to requests for comment on the issue.
Beyond Kenya, NMG’s troubles extend to Tanzania, where the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) recently suspended the websites of Mwananchi Communications, a subsidiary of NMG, after one of its publications aired an animated advert that controversially referenced President Samia Suluhu and recent abductions of opposition members.
These pressures could exacerbate NMG’s financial woes, as the group faces its first loss in decades amidst a rapidly changing media landscape that is increasingly shifting towards digital platforms.
