Kenya's Parliament on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on
the media and vowed to ensure it was tamed. Member after another tore into the media, apparently angered
by the all-out campaign against a controversial Bill passed by Parliament last
week that seeks to give government power to control media content.
Less than a week since they
defiantly passed the draconian Media Bill, Kenyan Members of Parliament now say
they have been opposed to it all along. Budalangi MP, Ababu Namwamba, insisted
that parliament and the executive owed Kenyans an apology for passing an
unconstitutional Bill. Agriculture Minister William Ruto however warned that
even though they are ready to make amends with the media, members of the Fourth
Estate must behave and stop attacking MPs over their non-payment of taxes.
The media in Kenya was stunned yesterday as
Kenya's Parliament defiantly enacted a draconian law to empower the minister
for Internal Security to take over media houses and confiscate equipment on grounds
of state security. The Bill was passed despite months of
behind-the-scenes consultations between government officials, politicians and
industry stakeholders who wanted the contentious sections removed.
The Kenya Editors' Guild is alarmed by the alacrity with
which Parliament has passed the above piece of legislation intended to muzzle and
cripple the operations of a free and independent media.What we are witnessing
is not just an assault of media freedoms, but a creeping dictatorship and
totalitarianism driven and executed by an unholy alliance between Parliament
and the Executive.
While the Media Institute condemns the outrageous
selfishness exhibited by Members of Parliament in passing what is clearly a
retrogressive law, the media must not escape culpability for what has befallen
it. It has become norm for the media to cry
wolf when faced with any encroachment on its turf, especially its own welfare.
Kenyan Police Friday arrested several
journalists and tens of civil society activists as they broke up a protest
against the passage of the Communications Act that allows the government to
interfere with the independence of the media. Kiss FM's morning crew led by Kenya's top
female presenter, Caroline Mutoko, were arrested as they demonstrated at the
national celebrations to mark Kenya's Independence from British colonial rule
45 years ago.
To many, he has the Midas touch that transforms everything into a success. He has dabbled in
business consultancy, journalism, finance, marketing, and even had a brief
stint with the Ghanaian Civil Service. With a controlling stake in successful media in both Uganda and Kenya, Radio Africa's Patrick Quarcoo is undoubtedly one of East Africa's budding media moguls.
Perennially dismissed as poor performers, KBC has beaten the usually
boastful NTV to second place according to the quarterly audience
research by Steadman Group released in October. Presumed industry
leaders, KTN, ghave similarly taken a beating.
The Central Broadcasting Services (CBS), commonly known as
Radio Buganda,
has received its last warning from government. It either has to tone down or face
closure. The warning is contained in an October 22 letter signed by secretary
of the newly inaugurated Broadcasting Council, Mr Kagole Kivumbi.
Eastern Africa has faired poorly in the world press
freedom ratings, with the best being Tanzania,
Kenya and Uganda, which
have been rated as just partly free. The rest of the countries in the region -Somalia, Ethiopia,
Rwanda, Burundi, Eritrea
and Djibouti have been rated as absolutely not free. The 2008 World Press Freedom report
by the US
- based Freedom House shows that the region was too hostile for the media in
the past year, and the situation has been getting worse.
Hearing Carol
Radull's crisp voice, vaguely British accent on air in the year 2000 you would
never have guessed she had a raging sports streak or that she would one day
come to head an exclusively sports radio station. Not that she sounded like an
airhead, but simply because Carol is not male. Just tune into Classic 105's
Saturday afternoon show ‘The Classic 105 Kick Off' also known as ‘The Score' on
Kiss 100 and listen to Carol Radull on air, passionately debating and
commenting on football.
Even though there have been many external and internal
wrangles involving media houses in east Africa, internal wars are now becoming
surprisingly too common, with Tanzania faithfully taking cue from its
neighbours. Cat fights that pitted four employees of New Habari Media Group against their Chief Executive Officer, Rosemary
Mwakitwange, a war many thought was over, has just resurfaced.
Book targets liberal media
in US but could be useful to all readers
While few in Africa
would be able to draw a clear distinction between liberal and conservative
media, the simple perception of media bias is an everyday experience. It is
this question of media bias that American researcher, Brent Baker, in his book
How To Identify, Expose and Correct Liberal Media Bias, is trying to grapple
with.
Working for a government newspaper and seeking to remain
independent and professional was never going to be easy. Surprisingly, it took
The New Vision Editor-in-Chief, Els De Temmerman, two years to realise it. By
the time she tendered her resignation on October 24, she had learnt the hard
way that accepting her appointment merely on assurances could have been a
lifetime blunder.
Last month, Rwanda's
High Council of the Media in collaboration with numerous donors threw a big
conference in Kigali to discuss the situation of
the media in the Great Lakes region. Now the
"Great Lakes Region" can be a synonym for a very amorphous geographical area;
in attendance were representatives from 13 countries stretching from as far
apart as Angola in the south
and Kenya
in the east. Even Sudan
was invited although its representative did not show up. Khartoum had just locked up 30 journalists in
one unprecedented swoop, setting a dark backdrop for the conference.
Set up nearly 100 years ago, the Commonwealth Press Union had become a
household name in media circles. The CPU not only offered fellowships, but also
organised numerous short term training courses for journalists in commonwealth
nations. But things have not been smooth since 2000. Cost cutting measures such
as scaling of activities have not helped. Now it is official that the CPU can
hold on no more.
Kenya's Parliament on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on
the media and vowed to ensure it was tamed. Member after another tore into the media, apparently angered
by the all-out campaign aga...
Less than a week since they
defiantly passed the draconian Media Bill, Kenyan Members of Parliament now say
they have been opposed to it all along. Budalangi MP, Ababu Namwamba, insisted
that parli...
The media in Kenya was stunned yesterday as
Kenya's Parliament defiantly enacted a draconian law to empower the minister
for Internal Security to take over media houses and confiscate ...
OUR VIEWWhile the Media Institute condemns the outrageous
selfishness exhibited by Members of Parliament in passing what is clearly a
retrogressive ...
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