The Communications and Multimedia Appeals Tribunal has upheld the Customary Group license revocation Kenya case, permitting the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) to revoke 6 broadcast licenses over unpaid charges totaling KSh 48,874,524.10.
The ruling, delivered on Friday, dismisses an attraction by Customary Group PLC and affirms that the regulator acted inside the legislation.
The licenses affected embody retailers akin to KTN Information, KTN Burudani, Radio Maisha, Spice FM, Vybez Radio, and Berur FM. The tribunal discovered that Customary Group failed to fulfill its obligations below the Kenya Data and Communications Act regardless of a number of notices and extensions.
In its determination, the tribunal held that non-payment of annual license charges and Common Service Fund levies justified revocation. It said that the CA adopted due course of, together with issuing a 45-day Discover of Contravention in December 2023 and subsequent revocation notices in September 2024.
“The Authority had given a number of alternatives over a sustained interval for compliance,” the ruling states, emphasizing that regulatory obligations are clear and enforceable.
Customary Group had argued {that a} December 24, 2024 settlement with the Authority outlined a structured reimbursement plan, together with an preliminary KSh 10 million settlement and month-to-month installments. The tribunal rejected this argument, discovering no breach by the regulator.
The Customary Group license revocation Kenya case has drawn wider scrutiny as a result of ongoing monetary disputes between media homes and the federal government. Customary Group and its supporters argue that the enforcement motion can’t be separated from broader financial stress.
Experiences from 2025 positioned authorities promoting arrears owed to media homes at round KSh 1.2 billion. Finances paperwork for 2026 point out deliberate funds of about KSh 228.9 million as a part of a KSh 866 million settlement throughout a number of retailers.
Critics say delayed funds have strained money movement, making it more durable for media firms to fulfill regulatory obligations whereas persevering with operations.
The CA maintains that the motion is a part of routine sector enforcement. The regulator has revoked dozens of licenses in recent times, together with 75 broadcasters in 2024 and greater than 42 TV stations in 2025, largely for non-compliance or inactivity.
This broader sample helps the Authority’s place that the transfer towards Customary Group will not be distinctive however a part of ongoing spectrum administration and regulatory compliance efforts.
Media watchdogs and business observers level to a longer-running stress between regulators and newsrooms, notably in periods of political friction. In 2025, indicators for some Customary Group stations have been briefly disrupted throughout protest protection, later challenged in courtroom.
Customary Group has framed its editorial stance as essential of presidency conduct, together with corruption and governance points. That context has fueled claims that enforcement actions disproportionately have an effect on outspoken retailers.
The tribunal’s ruling clears the way in which for the Communications Authority to proceed with license revocation until additional authorized motion intervenes. Customary Group might pursue extra appeals or search a negotiated settlement to retain its broadcast frequencies.
The result will decide whether or not the dispute stays a regulatory enforcement case or develops right into a broader confrontation over media financing and operational independence in Kenya.
“Broadcasting frequencies are scarce public sources regulated below statutory frameworks.”
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