Kenya: No, Kenya's Citizen TV Did Not Delete Skating Champion Interview After Criticism of Government

26 May 2026
Africa Check (Johannesburg)
By Grace Gichuhi

IN SHORT: Viral social media posts falsely claim Citizen TV deleted an interview with competitive in-line skater Kevin Kiarie, after it sparked criticism of government support for athletes. But the interview remains online, and the station dismissed the claims.

A post making the rounds on Facebook claims that Kenyan broadcaster Citizen TV deleted an interview featuring skating champion Kevin Kiarie, after it aired on the station's Sunday Live programme hosted by Jeff Koinange.

Kiarie recently gained national Kenyan attention after winning gold medals at the 2026 Africa Skate Games and other international competitions, despite limited sponsorship and support.

In his interview on Sunday Live, he spoke about struggling to fund travel, missing opportunities due to a lack of support and relying on family and friends to compete internationally.

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His story sparked wider criticism of how Kenyan authorities fail to support athletes in non-mainstream sports.

The post claiming his interview was deleted has also been posted here, here, here, here and here. But did Citizen TV really remove the interview to appease the government? We checked.

Interview still online

We searched for the video in question on Citizen TV's YouTube channel and found that it was uploaded on 11 May 2026 and is still available at the time of publication. Citizen TV also shared the interview on Facebook.

The broadcaster also dismissed the allegation as "fake news". Citizen TV described Kiarie as "a national treasure" and said it was proud to host him on the programme.

"We are aware of fake news regarding the deletion of Kevin Kiarie's #CitizenSundayLive interview. This is FALSE as the interview is still up on our platforms. Kevin is a national treasure and we were happy to host him. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" wrote Citizen TV.

Claims that Citizen TV deleted the interview with Kiarie are false.

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Africa Check is a non-partisan organisation which promotes accuracy in public debate and in the media. X @AfricaCheck and www.africacheck.org

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