Miguna accuses KTN of filming him secretly on Jeff Koinange show

The recent saga involving two city politicians took a fresh twist after one of them accused a television station of filming him secretly when he made alleged sexist attacks on a rival.

Nairobi gubernatorial hopeful Miguna Miguna accused KTN and the host of the eponymous TV talk show "Jeff Koinange Live" of filming him during a commercial break, when he made “rape comments” about his rival for the seat, Esther Passaris.

In a complaint to the Media Council of Kenya (MCK), Mr Miguna said the clip, which was posted on the Internet, receiving thousands of views, portrayed him as unfit for the position of governor in the August 2017 elections.

“The foregoing media house secretly, illegally and without consent recorded, maliciously edited and published a distorted portion of an offensive and unauthorised version of the illegally recorded conversation on the Internet, in gross violation of my legal and constitutional rights,” said the Canada-based lawyer.

TAKING THE FLAK

The show has received wide-ranging criticism for allowing the attacks on live television, with Mr Koinange taking flak for failing to stop personal attacks between his two guests and looking on as they tore into each other.

Gender Affairs Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki joined the fray, accusing KTN of allowing the guests on its show to engage in personal attacks.

In a statement, Ms Kariuki said the show had “trivialised the crime of rape”, adding that the subsequent comments on social media appeared to glorify violence against women.

“As the Cabinet Secretary in charge of Gender Affairs, I strongly condemn the trivialisation of the crime of RAPE as depicted on KTN’s Jeff Koinange Live show and the subsequent comments on social media that sought to normalize this unacceptable and dehumanizing act,” she said.

Accusing the show of using abusive and derogatory language, she added that it was unfair to allow victim shaming on the show, irrespective of the political leaning of those involved, and that attacks based on gender are unacceptable.

“The comments online further highlighted how far as a society, we still have to go in changing our attitudes as a nation towards GBV (gender based violence),” she noted.

CONTINUED ASSAULT

She said various actors failed collectively to take action as the “below the belt” conversations were going on the the TV show, which is aired on prime time, saying they stood by and watched from a distant.

“Why did the media house allow the continued assault? Why didn’t anyone step in? Who were behind the scenes? Who were these silent actors?” she posed.
Commenting on a crime that is mostly cited as a “weapon of war” in failed countries, but which nevertheless occurs with regular spontaneity at least according to police records, in law-abiding societies as well, Ms Kariuki, whose ministry advocates against gender violence, said the “silent majority” who take no action are as guilty as the perpetrators.

“Fundamentally, they need to understand that Gender Based Violence encompasses all acts of violence be it physical, psychological or verbal,” she noted.

OFFENDING CONTENT
In a week’s time, the country will join the world in “16 days of activism against Gender Based Violence on November 25, which is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and on December 10 the Human Rights Day", when the ministry will lead advocacy campaigns against rape and defilement, which according to the minister, affects both men and women.

Referring to the exchanges between Ms Passaris and Mr Miguna, Ms Kariuki urged Kenyans to “use the conversations around this unfortunate and highly publicized [incident] to galvanize our efforts to fight Gender Based Violence.”

She also urged the Media Council of Kenya to pull down the offending content of this particular and other similar incidents and in future take quick and decisive action to protect victims.

The ministry, she said, has embarked on the ‘Jitokeze’ campaign to end violence against women and girls and launched the “HeforShe” campaign, whose objectives are similar.