KFCB: Pitiful attempt at reining in morality

Does morality matter?” That, according to Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) CEO Ezekiel Mutua is the emerging question in the mounting debate over the national regulator’s recent directives that have stirred controversy in the local film and media industry.

In the past few weeks, the government body has been at pains to justify what in some quarters have been deemed as outlandish and archaic laws. The laws have drawn equally mixed reactions from industry stakeholders and consumers.

Mutua and the KFCB directives have been widely criticised for being impractical and virtually obsolete in light of the fact that use of such services is optional and, therefore, consumers retain the discretion on whether or not they wish to use the service.

At best, the board’s directive could be viewed as a misguided attempt to play catch-up with global developments in technology that are inevitably bound to alter the local media and content landscape.

“Decay of moral values is a greater challenge to our modern society than terror and other vices,” says Mutua. “We don’t expect to be popular but that is a cross we are willing to bear in the delivery of this task. We are not trying to be cool.”  

According to Mutua, the perception that KFCB is out to cripple what ideally qualify as prime opportunities for growth of local content producers and the overall creative industries is the result of efforts by “dark forces” who are keen to paint the body as retrogressive and uninformed.

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“All we are trying to do as KFCB is to ignite a conversation that will draw people’s attention to the fact that we have a problem that needs to be addressed urgently,” he notes, adding: “The level of content-related moral decay is rising exponentially and so we must sustain the raging debate on the merits and demerits of regulation of media content to ensure conformity with our national moral values”.

He cites the controversy surrounding the foiled Project X party as a case in point, depicting how young people are being led to embrace untoward social practices. To counter the apparent “decay of the national social fabric”, KFCB has now shifted its position, adopting a more inclusive approach that seeks to bring together various stakeholders to tackle the key issues.

“KFCB will work with various stakeholders to support programmes geared towards supporting the youth to utilise their energies in a positive manner,” said the board’s CEO.

“As the country’s film and broadcast content regulator, KFCB pledges to implement policy frameworks to facilitate a conducive environment for the film industry. This way, we hope to help the industry to create more jobs for the youth, translating into more economic development for the country.”

Towards this end, Mutua announced KFCB’s support for a range of activities including the Web Rangers online safety campaign that will be conducted in partnership with Google and philanthropist Manu Chandaria’s Global Peace Foundation.

The board also pledged to continue its support for the drama festivals and the annual Riverwood Academy Film Awards as a way of nurturing young talents. KFCB will also roll out a Media Literacy Programme for high school students and teenagers on ethical Internet use under the theme: “You are what you consume”.

“The fact that Netflix is even here shows that Kenya is doing well in terms of Internet penetration and mobile connectivity. The statistics are there to demonstrate this fact,” he says. “Our role as a regulator remains and continues to be facilitative, as opposed to being punitive or an impediment to growth of the industry.”