The Communications and Multimedia Appeals Tribunal has cleared the way for the Communications Authority of Kenya to revoke six broadcasting licenses belonging to the Standard Group.
This comes after the media house failed to settle arrears totaling Ksh. 48,874,524.10.
In a court ruling delivered on March 27, 2026, the tribunal dismissed an appeal by the Standard Group, holding that the revocation of the licenses was lawful and consistent with the Kenya Information and Communications Act.
Six Standard Group Licenses Under Revocation
In its ruling on March 27, 2026, the tribunal dismissed Standard Group’s appeal, confirming that the impending revocation was lawful and consistent with the Kenya Information and Communications Act (KICA).
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The tribunal highlighted that the media group had repeatedly failed to pay annual licence fees and the Universal Service Fund (USF) Levy, despite multiple notices from the Authority over several years.
The six licences affected include Vybez Radio, Berur FM, Radio Maisha, Spice FM, KTN Burudani, and KTN News.
“The six (6) licences included Vybez Radio, Berur FM, Radio Maisha, Spice FM, KTN Burudani, and KTN News. The licences require annual remittance of fees and levies, conditions which the Standard Media Group failed to meet despite several extensions and concessions by the Authority. The licensee was issued a Notice of Contravention of license terms and conditions, which ran for Forty- Five (45) days from December 4th, 2023, and lapsed on January 17th, 2024,” read the notice by CA.
Each licence requires annual remittance of fees and levies, obligations that the Standard Group did not fulfill, even after several extensions and concessions offered by the Authority. Notices of Contravention were issued on December 4, 2023, and ran for 45 days until January 17, 2024.
Revocation notices were subsequently issued on September 24, 2024, after the initial notices had lapsed.
Standard Group Payment Plan Dispute Rejected
The outstanding debt of KShs. 48,874,524.10 comprises KShs. 13,880,334.37 in licence fees and KShs. 34,994,189.73 in USF levies.
In its appeal, Standard Group did not contest the debt but cited a December 24, 2024, agreement outlining a payment plan.
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The plan included an initial payment of KShs. 10 million, a further KShs. 3 million upon completion of a rights issue, and subsequent monthly payments.
Standard Group argued that the Authority’s revocation notices violated this agreement and constituted bad faith, infringing constitutional rights to freedom of expression and public communication.
However, the court noted that the CA had engaged the media group in several meetings on June 14, 2023, December 4, 2023, and February 9, 2024, to resolve non-payment issues and provide ample opportunities to regularize their position.
The court noted that broadcasting frequencies are scarce public resources regulated strictly under statutory frameworks.
It affirmed that public bodies must exercise regulatory powers reasonably, transparently, and consistently, and that legitimate expectations could not override statutory duties. Claims that the revocation breached principles of natural justice and proportionality were dismissed, as the Standard Media Group had received multiple notices and sufficient time to comply.
The tribunal also upheld the presumption of constitutionality of the regulatory framework empowering the Authority to enforce license conditions with costs were awarded to the Communications Authority.
