ODM leader Raila Odinga has condemned a local daily for publishing a story about his daughter’s health, terming it as false.
Mr Odinga said in a statement that the story carried by The Sunday Standard indicating that his daughter, Rosemary, had suffered a mild stroke causing her admission in a South African hospital, is fictitious.
He said neither his family nor family friends were consulted before the story was published.
“Ida and Raila Odinga are horrified by the lead story on today’s Sunday Standard by the title Raila: Why I fear for my daughter.
“The story is a fraudulent exercise of journalism, which attempts to pass fictitious suppositions of the writer on the medical condition of Rosemary Odinga and on the position of the Odinga family on matters surrounding her health and career as truths,” the statement relayed by his spokesperson Dennis Onyango said.
The article further says that Mr Odinga is musing ending his daughter’s aspiration of being the next Kibra MP, which is currently under Ken Okoth.
Mr Odinga said that despite his daughter being hospitalized, the family’s position is to treat the matter with utmost privacy and as such, attributions used in the story amount to fabrication of facts.
NO ETHICS
Rosemary was flown to South Africa last week for what the family termed as further check up.
She had been admitted in Nairobi Hospital last month after complaining of headaches and then transferred to Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi, for eight days before being flown to South Africa.
The statement further said the story is only meant to deceive Kenyans and exhibits the highest level of unprofessionalism.
“It is shameful that the writer has sacrificed common decency and trampled over Rosemary’s rights to privacy, both standard requirements of professional journalism, in order to fabricate a story for his selfish gratification and sales for the company.
“Readers must treat this story as a con and know they have been cheated of any money they spent on it.”
Source link-nation.co.ke
