Kenya doing badly on Press freedom
What you need to know:
- The drop raises questions on the Jubilee administration’s commitment to Press freedom. Kenya was in position 72 last year.
- The passage of the law and its timing, just two months after the attack, was seen as a reaction to how the media covered the attack with the government more determined to control information relayed by the Press.
- The Information and Communications (Amendment Act) signed into law last December granted arbitrary powers to the government.
Kenya dropped a massive 18 positions in the latest world Press freedom rankings report.
A report by Reporters Without Borders released yesterday blames the drop on government’s reaction to the media coverage of the Westgate Shopping Mall terrorist attack.
The report places Kenya at position 90 out of 180 countries surveyed. Finland remains at the top for the fourth consecutive year. Eritrea has the worst record in the world.
Kenya is among the four most notable falls in Africa. Others are Mali, Central Africa Republic and Burundi, where governments openly muzzle the Press.
The drop raises questions on the Jubilee administration’s commitment to Press freedom. Kenya was in position 72 last year.
There was a general drop in Press freedom in countries that experienced conflict or were engaged in war on terrorism, the report says.
DANGEROUS INTIATIVES
“In Kenya, the government’s much criticised authoritarian response to the media’s coverage of the Westgate Mall attack was compounded by dangerous parliamentary initiatives,” the report by the global watchdog says.
“Above all, a law was adopted at the end of 2013, creating a special court to judge audiovisual content,” the report says in relation to government criticism of the media when television stations aired footage showing soldiers “looting” shops at the mall. Later, amendments to the Information and Communications Act in December were passed and signed into law last year.
The passage of the law and its timing, just two months after the attack, was seen as a reaction to how the media covered the attack with the government more determined to control information relayed by the Press.
The Information and Communications (Amendment Act) signed into law last December granted arbitrary powers to the government.
It created the Communication and Multimedia Appeals Tribunal that falls under the Communication Authority of Kenya with the power to impose hefty fines on media houses and journalists, recommend deregistration of scribes and make any order on freedom of expression.
