Nairobi — An activist filed a lawsuit on Monday seeking the arrest of two Kenyan ministers and a senior official for contempt of court after the government ignored a court order to reopen three television channels shut down over their political coverage. The case moves Kenya one step closer to a possible showdown between the government and judiciary over the unprecedented decision to shutter the three stations. Kenyan police used teargas to disperse a crowd of more than 100 demonstrators demanding the reopening of the channels, whose closure has also prompted vocal criticism from the US, the UN and former colonial ruler Britain. "The government cannot ignore the ruling of the court," the activist, Okiya Omtatah, said as he filed his papers. "I am waiting to get a time when my petition might be heard." Omtatah said he was seeking the arrest of the interior minister, the information minister and the director of Kenya’s communications authority for flouting last Thursday’s order. No on...
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