Survey shows President Kenyatta, DP Ruto leading in media coverage

A new poll by Trends and Insights For Africa research firm shows President Uhuru Kenyatta leading in media coverage at 20%.



According to the report released on Wednesday, he was followed by Deputy President William Ruto at 13%.



ODM leader Raila Odinga was third at 8%, the study conducted between October 2018 and June 2019 showed.



The study revealed that Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi and Amina Mohamed (Sports) were the only two Cabinet Secretaries with the highest coverage at 5% and 3% respectively.



The report further shows that on crime, Matiang’i gets the highest coverage due to his mandate as the head of the interior docket.



His mentions focused on the dusit D2 terror attack and fake gold scam, while President Kenyatta mentions under this theme focused on his remarks around the attack and his impersonation.



The murder of the human rights activist Caroline Mwatha received 7.9% of the total mentions.



Sports CS Mohammed’s mention during her tenure in the education docked was linked to the release of national exams results, students’ placement and the new curriculum.



In reference to national politics, DP Ruto has the highest coverage at 27.9%, followed by President Kenyatta at 20.8%.



Odinga is third at 18%.



The coverage around these personalities has been on 2022 politics and the 9 March 2018, peace deal between President Kenyatta and Odinga popularly known as the handshake.



“It is not a wonder that President Kenyatta gets media attention because we all know he is the head of state and anyone would be interested to know what he is up to or what he says whenever he makes a public appearance,” TIFA research showed.



“After the handshake, Kenyatta and Raila also got more coverage because Kenyans were eager to know what the handshake was all about thus the media was ready to inform the public.”



Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko got the highest media coverage compared to his 46 peers at 3%.