Media watchdog condemns Kenyan ban of TV broadcasts

PARIS (Reuters) - Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned on Monday the Kenyan government's decision to ban live TV broadcasts during election protests as "dangerous and counter-productive".

The Kenyan government ordered all live broadcasts suspended indefinitely on Sunday, as violent protests raged over the disputed results of an election that returned President Mwai Kibaki to power for a second five-year term.

"The news blackout could result in the streets being ruled by rumor and disinformation," RSF said in a statement.

"This decision is therefore counter-productive, inasmuch as it constitutes a de facto ban on all news programs, it imposes a climate of intimidation and plunges the country into confusion," the Paris-based group said.

Kibaki said in a New Year's message on Monday he would beef up security across Kenya as the nation's worst riots in years greeted his re-election.

Police battled protesters in blazing slums on Monday and a local TV station said at least 124 people had died in the turmoil.

RSF called on the government to talk to media executives and editors and let them work freely. The media watchdog said most of the broadcast media had suspended all their news programs, effectively plunging Kenya into a news blackout.

Kenya's government said it had not put any limit on content, just forced a delay.

(Reporting by Kerstin Gehmlich; Editing by Dominic Evans)