Kenyans will resists attempt by MPs to limit media freedom, Kericho priest says

A move by Members of National Assembly to prescribe huge fines and prison terms for journalists who will dare to report alleged corruption in Parliament and question their integrity standards has been received with anger by defenders of media freedom.

Outspoken Segemik Parish Catholic priest Fr Ambrose Kimutai warned that MPs appeared intent on limiting the rights and freedoms of Kenyans.

He warned that the move against the media may just be the first in a process that could see Kenyans bid farewell to many more civil liberties in future.

Fr Kimutai warned that by turning back the clock more than thirty years to a time when journalists were forced to work in fear, the National Assembly had pushed the bar too far and was testing the resolve of Kenyans whom he said are ready to do anything to defend the Constitution.

“The MPs are playing with fire.

“In the past when the government attempted to deny people their right to information, it led to chaos as people formed underground movements in a bid to get the information they required.

“Where there is no freedom, people will rise up to fight for it,” he said.

MOVE HIGHLY UNPOPULAR

Fr Kimutai said the move to repress the media was highly unpopular among Kenyans who rely on journalists to provide them with truthful information on the goings on in Parliament.

He warned that Kenyans were unlikely to sit back and watch as parliamentarians attempted to shield themselves from criticism in a similar way that was witnessed during the Moi-era and urged President Uhuru Kenyatta not to sign the Bill into law.

Kericho Centre for Human Rights Director Robert Ng’eno also weighed in on the matter, noting that media freedom is one of the key pillars of democracy.

He warned that any efforts to limit it would amount to sabotaging the entire Bill of Rights as set out in the Kenya Constitution.

“This amounts to reducing the existing democratic space and Parliament must exercise caution when enacting such legislation.

“We are worried that Kenya could be slipping back to the era of repression and sustained assault on our rights and fundamental freedoms,” he said.

DEFEND FREEDOMS

He expressed growing concerns among civil society leaders that their organisations could also be targeted after the media and urged Kenyans to be on high alert and defend their freedom and rights.

Kericho-based journalists also voiced their concerns on the Bill, which proposes a fine of Sh500,000 on journalists who ‘scandalise’ Parliament through their reporting or a two year jail term.

The journalists called on President Kenyatta not to append his signature on the controversial Bill.

Gardson Iguta of The Star newspaper, Philip Yegon (People Daily), Nikko Tanui (The Standard) and Bernard Rotich of Chamgei FM, termed the Bill as being ‘fishy,’ adding that the MPs have something up their sleeves that they do not want the media to broadcast to Kenyans.

“It appears the MPs have something to hide or are planning something that they do not want Kenyans to know and that is why they want to scare us into submission.

“We urge President Kenyatta to show direction by not signing the Bill into law,” said Mr Iguta.