Uproar was triggered among Muslim readers when Kenya’s The Star and South Africa’s The Citizen reprinted the controversial new cover of Charlie Hebdo. Both publications issued apologies to its readers on Thursday, TIME reported.
“The Star sincerely regrets any offence and pain caused by the picture and we will bear Muslim sensibilities in mind in the future,” read a statement from the Kenyan paper.
The country’s media regulator reportedly summoned The Star‘s owner after levying accusations that the paper published indecent images and had acted in an unprofessional manner, according to the BBC.
Earlier this week, editors at The Citizen had claimed that the publication of the new cover had been a mere “oversight” and was not fuelled by malicious intent.
“The Citizen would never intentionally offend anyone’s religious sensibilities, especially in the manner used by Charlie Hebdo magazine, several of whose staff members were murdered last week,” a statement said, in an online editorial.
