Why the proposed Media Bill is ‘almost perfect’

Journalists in Nairobi protest against the proposed Media Bill./mapambano

The proposed media bill has not only appalled many but also cast doubts as to whether good state-press relations will ever find a footing in a country that preaches democracy and practices something else.

Leaders from every nook and cranny have poured vitriol on Members of the Kenyan parliament for passing what experts term as a “repressive and unconstitutional” law, which is alleged to strip any remaining freedom from the media.

A fortnight ago, former vice president Kalonzo Musyoka warned of a return to dictatorship if MPs keep alive their efforts to gag the press and silence the civil society, the only remaining critics of the present government.

Poured vitriol

Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga echoed his sentiments, and called for a free press.

As deputy president William Ruto exudes confidence that the president will not sign the bill, all eyes now focus on the president, waiting to see if he will make good his promise.

President Kenyatta says he will not sign the bill before ironing out contentious issues with all stakeholders; a local daily quoted him as saying.

An expert privy to the contents of the contentious bill intimated that some parts are good as they will promote professionalism in the media industry, while other parts of the same bill remained vague and potentially punitive to media houses and journalists.

“The media should be left to self regulate themselves like other professions. For instance, lawyers have the Law Society of Kenya, teachers have the Teachers Service Commission, while doctors have the Medical Practitioners Board.” Says Mr. Kerich, an expert in media relations.

“I do not see why the media council should not be strengthened to regulate the press that is in line with international standards.’ Adds Mr.Kerich.

Trying sheep in a hyenas court

According to the proposed bill, the government will form a vague board that will regulate what the media reports, and unfortunately, no member of the said board is a journalist.

“This is ridiculous.  It is like trying sheep in a hyena’s court and expecting justice.” chided another expert.

The bill also proposed exorbitant fines for individual journalists who are caught on the wrong side of the law.

“Errant journalists will part with at least Shs 1 Million, same applies to the media houses,” Said Henry Onchoka, a media consultant.

The crime might be something as minor as “failing to separate facts from opinion,” he adds.

Onchoka says this will result to a suppressed media so fearful to report the happenings and risk going out of business due to such sanctions as heavy fines and threats to their reporters.

Journalists summoned

A fortnight ago, Kenyans reeled in shock after the government summoned two journalists for exposing and portraying the police as thieves.

Mohamed Ali and John Allan Namu of the Standard Group had aired CCTV footage allegedly showing Kenya Defence Forces soldiers carrying bulging white plastic bags bearing the logos of Nakumatt supermarket, as they tried to secure the Westgate Mall following an attack by the Somalia militant group Al Shabaab.

Interior cabinet secretary Joseph Ole Lenku was quoted as saying that the journalist duo acted as if they were glorifying the terrorists and vehemently denied the soldiers looted as claimed.

An army spokesperson reportedly said the security forces were carrying drinking water from the supermarket which was located inside the mall.

Lenku later admitted that some soldiers looted, and sure enough, a few were dismissed and arraigned in courts.

“A case in point is that if the media did not expose the rot at the Westgate, no one could ever know thus they must be allowed of their place as the fourth estate,” added the expert.

“This is vendetta; I believe the MPs are trying to silence the media after they have been portrayed as greedy and selfish since claiming a salary increment.

This is not how democracies work. They  (parliamentarians) are public officers and the public must know what their representatives are doing,” says Kerich.

Weed out quacks

“They should give media a chance to do their work, and I am still waiting to see how this works out because the politicians are also the guys who own the media houses.” Adds Onchoka.

“However, we must agree that the same bill seeks to streamline the profession and also to create more employment.  If those contentious issues are solved, I think we have a very good and realistic bill here,” says Onchoka.

The bill proposes that at least 60 per cent of the broadcast content be local, thereby reviving the sick horse that is the film industry.

Currently, local media houses have been feeding their audience on cheap and third rate films from Nigeria and Asia, building foreign economies while depriving the local industry of massive income.

“Kenya boasts of top notch film makers and actors who can even hold a candle to their Nigerian counterparts, and it is sad we knowingly sit on our film industry, a local gold mine,” a top rated film maker lamented.

“Just recently, the government introduced Uwezo fund which is aimed at empowering the youth, and even film makers were not left behind. A fund was introduced to support those making good local content and this is a very good move as it will create jobs in this sector,”

The new bill also seeks to license all practitioners in a bid to weed out quacks who have infested the industry like fleas.

According to a highly placed expert who wished not to be named, the media industry is now “full of fame hungry pretenders and quacks, and just a few professionals,” that is why the best journalists are still jobless while people who have never seen the inside of a media school now ’rule the airwaves.”

Or rather, which other profession do we find people just joining without any vetting?

“In Kenya, you just need to get famous, and you get that media job, that is why we have some very irresponsible scribes,” said Job Kiarie, a media practitioner.

“We must be able to shield our institutions from a rogue parliament or else we go back to the dark oppressive days when Kenyans had to look over their shoulders before saying anything.” Maintains Mr. Kerich.

*Names have been edited to protect the identities of the respondents.

Why the Westgate cash will be pinched

PHOTO: Courtesy

Kenyans spirit of togetherness and love was best captured in the ensuing moments after terrorists attacked shoppers in Nairobi’s premier shopping Mall few weeks ago, and man, people gave their all, including money, assurance and even blood, in a public show of solidarity.

However, there is a new twist to the finances collected in aid of the victims.

In a land where everything turns to a full blown scandal in a matter of days, fresh fears have emerged after mobile phone service providers which initiated the assistance program announced that monies collected surpassed the expected amount by far, opening a new gateway for people with sticky fingers to reward their pockets.

300 million in days

It was reported that Kenyans raised a whopping 300 million within days, though questions were raised over whether the response could have been te same had poor Kenyans, the riffraff of the society, had been in the thick of things as has happened before.

Just a quick preview, tragedies of even bigger intensity than the Westgate have rocked Kenya, from the Sachang’wan fire tragedy where more than a hundred perished as they tried to salvage fuel from a burning tanker, to unknown numbers of others dying out of hunger and starvation in far flung Turkana.

Burnt to death

Still, dozens were burnt to death as they tried to siphon petrol from another tanker in Nairobi’s Industrial area.

However, most Kenyans watched, and pointed fingers to the victims who, quite reasonably, had shed the fear of death in a bid to feed their families, oblivious of the danger involved.

 No one came to their aid, save for the humanitarian organization, The Kenya Red Cross, and a few politicians eager to make a name out of it. So the question goes, why was the recent tragedy treated with kid gloves?

Why did it raise so many hullabaloos?

Was it because the Big fish were involved, who consequently whipped the small fish into helping them?

Why did it take so long for Kenyans to respond to the Turkana starvation?

Interestingly, the Kenyans for Kenya initiative which was formed to aid those affected by the killer drought in Turkana raised more than half a billion shillings, and though there were a few hushed questions over whether the amount was embezzled or not, that was just extra ordinary.

Back to the West gate affair. How ironical that the money, having exceeded the amount required, now lies un used, and the handlers of the said cash cannot figure out what to do with the cash?

Revolving fund

Something should be done. There are still pockets of people sleeping hungry all over the country; others have been detained in hospitals after failing to pay the hefty bills.

What about forming a revolving fund for helping those involved in such tragedies, like a fund which is always there, where people can contribute throughout?

The fund could be managed by the Kenya Red Cross and could come in handy whenever Kenyans find themselves in such tragedies.

Enough said!

Tough times as VAT law defiles Kenyans, condemns them to starvation

The stories of women roping their stomachs to appease the deadly pangs of hunger in far flung counties, of dying children and the blood cuddling pictures of starving, hunger stricken old women awaiting death now ring through the minds of most Kenyans as tough times reckon, this time round instigated by the same government that promised to shield its citizenry from starvation.

Tough times indeed for the common man.

It is now clear that Kenyan Members of Parliament (M.Ps) threw all caution to the wind and passed the now frowned upon and devastatingly unpopular Value Added Tax Bill (VAT Bill) that among other things sought to increase the prices for essential commodities like milk and flour, the staple for the common man. Consequently sending the cost of living to the rafters, and condemning Kenyans to a certain death knoll, death through starvation.

Death through starvation

It is common knowledge that most Kenyans live below the poverty line, or what the United Nations (U.N) describe as living below a Dollar a day.

And the move by the government can only sound like a sure death sentence.

The aftermath of the ripples created by the said law have been felt in every nook and cranny of the country, gripping a population with shock and disbelief.

The cost of everyday essentials, the basic needs like food has risen to unprecedented highs with a liter of processed milk now retailing for Shs.130, up from the previous cost of Sh. 75, the equivalent of one Dollar, while that of other commodities continue to compete on a free rise as unscrupulous traders connive with the government to rip off the already suffering Kenyan.

Majority of Kenyans eke out a precarious existence, some living off garbage while a raft of others sleep hungry hoping against hopes that tomorrow will be better, amid an avalanche of problems including run away corruption, high cost of living, poor sanitation due to a rise in population, mass unemployment, diseases ,poverty and deprivation.

Living below the poverty line

Unless the U.N redefines the popular cliché of “living below the poverty line” and sets it at three dollars a day, a colossal amount that most Kenyans will definitely not afford, it seems that one dollar can buy you nothing in Kenya now, save for a few rolls of chewing gum to assuage the dreadful pangs emanating from the empty stomach.

Or a  few rolls of toilet paper, a move which will be self defeating in that the trips to the lavatory will be infrequent and far between.

Tough times ahead

It beats logic to realize that a government cannot raise funds to finance its budget thereby resorting to hurting the already overtaxed Kenyan and subjecting him to untold suffering and hunger leaving him staring starvation, and death on the face.

And tough times are yet to come.

If Kenya Power, the company that supplies electricity decides to make good their threats of raising the cost of power due to the now effective VAT taxes, everything will shoot up, dealing the final and fatal blow to a population.

VAT Bill

The VAT Bill was passed in April 2013 and the president of the Republic of Kenya gave it the green light by assenting to its provisions, setting the stage for and seating as a judge in a case condemning Kenyans to” Death by Starvation”, and watching from the high table as the riffraff of the society, yours truly included, suffer from anguish and deprivation.

The Bill is reported to have imposed tax on previously zero rated items including foodstuff, bicycles, and a barrage of other basic necessities, only months after the new government assured Kenyans that the cost of living will be driven to an all time low and that essential goods will never be affected by the bill.

My crystal ball tells me that a hungry man is an angry man.

Kenyans are watching. Soon, push will come to shove and they will demand for justice.

Hut tax

A friend opined to this writer that during the colonial and postcolonial era, there were all sorts of taxes being levied to poor Kenyans, from the infamous hut tax, bicycle tax to a myriad of others, the government of the day defiled its populace left right and center, not only making life unbearable but also removing dignity from the very life, a scene that might sadly come back, half a century later.

I end where I started. The Kenyan scenario resembles the proverbial mother devouring her young ones.

The more things change, the more they remain the same. 

photo credits remain with respective owners.

Kenyans will never learn! Here are the ingredients of post election violence

Lessons from the party nominations

Kenyan politics are made from stuff that can make the most dramatic soap operas and make the masters of all soaps, the Mexicans, proud, but the only tragedy with this political drama is, the precision at which they so predictably turn tragic.

Last week I witnessed a gang of men knock out three canines from a young lad who had allegedly fled with campaign money which had been dished out by a politician. 

The incident happened near Kangemi where, as has been the custom when big shot politicians come calling and hunting for votes, youths, market women, street children and people of all walks the streets of life line up for the windfall that will be dished out and not for the unending promises that politicians make.

Now, this lad happened to be so near to the campaign trucks and when that time came, he was among the ones who grabbed wads of notes from the grubby fingers of campaign mandarins, and as predicted, made a mad dash that could have made David Rudisha proud.

Drama unfolded when a 500 strong army of hungry youths and market women descended on him, eager to get something from the fall, and man! It was a sight to behold as people rushed, bashed, jostled for space and outran each other in hot pursuit of the money laden guy.

Tragedy strikes

After about ten minutes of the gold rush, the fleeing guy’s journey was cut short by one sweep that knocked him to the ground and within no time, he had been relieved of all the money.

The tattered notes, some torn in half and others into minute pieces were strewn all over the place, perhaps to serve as a reminder to the locals of their greed for money, and just for the record, I saw a guy gobble up a wad of notes into his mouth.

Worried man

I was a worried man. Worried because I expected that at this day and age people should act with a certain degree of civility. Who knows, if they lined up and shared the cash in a civilized way, maybe everyone could have gotten something to take home and no money could have been wasted. But then I realized it the same Kenyans who are dirt poor and can’t wait to lay their hands on the money, some just to feed themselves.

I am not about to preach civility to Kenyans, because I know will fair badly off. But it’s time we changed our archaic and barbaric ways as far as political campaigns are concerned.

At about the same time, just when I was chatting with a heavily inebriated youth who was weak enough not to fight for the windfall, tragedy stroke.

There were cries and shrieks but one particular horrific wail signaled danger.

A man’s eye had been gorged out, and three of his front teeth knocked off. Reason, he breached a contract.

On getting closer, I realize he is the same man who bolted with campaign cash. It was a plan, I learn, by a group of youth to run away with the cash and the man made a fatal error when he fell, denying the others their lion’s share of the loot. And that was the price to pay.

Now this is the tragedy

Every five years, Kenyans live in peace, tolerate each other and work together regardless of their tribes and political affiliations, but come electioneering period, and they turn against each other, thanks to politicians who successfully divide them along tribal lines and feed them with stolen cash.

Most people get a smattering amount of this campaign money, some getting as little as KShs 20, money that cannot even buy a packet of milk!

The party nominations came around last Thursday and anyone who witnessed the tragic drama can bear with me that violence, voter bribery, mass importation of voters and sheer anarchy ruled the exercise, shaming Kenya as a democracy.

Two pence

If what we saw in the sham party nominations was a sneak preview of the general elections, we better be prepared for more anguish, more pain, more internally displaced persons, more bloodshed, courtesy of we Kenyans for allowing the politicians to use us.

When politicians use money to control our minds, when the police will be caught unawares again, we are poised to have the mother of all post election violence!

I rest my case!

What an Uhuru-Ruto presidency means to Kenyans

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What an Uhuru-Ruto presidency means to Kenyans

The proverbial two horse race in Kenyan politics has now taken shape and no one can deny that the battle lines have been drawn between Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka on one side and Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyata and Eldoret North MP William Ruto on the other.

Yours truly looks into what an Uhuruto president will bring to Kenyans now that they remain the only competition for Raila Amollo Odinga and company, and constitute one of the two horses in the race to assume the tenancy of the vacant house on the hill.

Uhuruto and The Hague

Uhuru and Ruto have become synonymous with the International Criminal Court, thanks to their case; a mention of their name stirs memories of the post election violence.

Truth be told, no one will like a situation where his or her president, and his deputy, leave office from time to time to attend to hearings at the ICC, if at all they hearken to the call.

Two scenarios

There will be two most likely scenarios come March 5 or 6. Scenario one will be, Uhuru and Ruto are finally elected to state house and the duo, in their characteristic aura of impunity dismiss the ICC as a white man’s court as they have done time and again and defy orders to attend court, making Kenya to be declared a pariah state by the international community and most importantly, donor countries.

Uhuru and Ruto are facing the worst ever charges in the world, crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court in the Hague

This is the biggest hurdle to their quest for presidency and just in case they make it, it is certain they will not honor their pledges to appear for hearing. Kenya will be a failed state if it has not achieved that already.

Here is why.

Poor Country

Kenya is a poor country which depends on donors to pay the most basic of her bills. From the unbelievably high MPs salaries to those of striking nurses and teachers, to paying ghost workers and imposters in the police force, we literally beg to even feed our population.

Such donors like the US and the UK, Norway, Germany, Japan, France, and Canada have already expressed their dislike for the impunity that is rife in Kenya and have vowed to withdraw their aid and slap Kenya with sanctions.

Secondly, Uhuru and Ruto will be banned from travelling to all those countries where they could sell Kenya’s agenda and though the incumbent Mwai Kibaki had moved east, the bulk of our aid comes from the US and the UK.

Greedy hyenas

Thirdly, rebel groups, extortionists and secessionists groups will come out in broad daylight in a bold move and take advantage of the failed state and wreak havoc in a country that has struggled to secure its people even when peace is abundant. Look at the Tana Delta and Baragoi, look at Garrisa and Eastleigh where explosive devices are hurled at will to hapless Kenyans when we have a functioning government.

Chinkororo, Mombasa Republican Council, the Mungiki, Bagdad boys and a myriad of other unlawful groupings will rear their ugly heads, slumping the country to unprecedented levels of anarchy, Democratic Republic of Congo style.

Arson, terror, assassination, murder, and theft will be the order of the day.

Joblessness.

Most youth, 75 per cent of them are largely unemployed. These are bad statistics for a sanctioned state whose leaders seeking political office have done nothing to address the situation.

The youth who make up more than 70 per cent of the adult population will surely rise against this.

While a laborer in the United States earns $8 (KSHS 868) per hour, a Kenyan equivalent earns Kshs 300 per day. In other democracies these youths will be classified as jobless because the amount cannot feed them leave alone sustain them, thus rendering them hand to mouth laborers.

A rebellion is likely to happen as these youths protest against being used while their leaders continue to steal millions.

Nurses, doctors, teachers, hoteliers, masons, drivers, pilots and people from each and every trade and profession will down their tools leading to the mother and father of all rebellions, and ultimately, a civil coup that will bundle the ineffective leaders out of office.

Impunity

Who will obey the constitution when the top leaders break laws at will and run away with it? Free press will be gagged; political assassinations will be order if the day, opposing forces will be killed for game and Kenya, following in DRC’s footsteps when all communities will rise against each other citing generational injustices over national resources, land, etc

Scenario two

Kenyans will use their heads not their hearts this time round and vote in worthy leaders and avoid all the above, for a peaceful, visionary and productive Kenya that will unite its citizen to steer the country into the next level.

At this point, I borrow a quote from squealer, a character in the book, “Animal farm” who always used this phrase to convince animals showing signs of opposition towards the rule and justification of the pigs, and I quote thus, “Or do you want man to come back and rule us?”

Obviously no one wanted man to reclaim his farm and the answer was a No.

Squealer could always win after posing the question.

And I ask, do we want a failed state?

We do not want a failed state, do we?