New rules to begin as Uhuru signs Media Council law

President Kenyatta has signed the Media Council Bill, 2013 into law, officially effecting changes proposed in the management of the affairs of Kenya’s media industry.

The President on Tuesday assented to the Bill, which creates a body to set media standards, regulate and monitor compliance with them.

Now an Act of Parliament, the law passed by Parliament in the first week of December will see the establishment of an independent Complaints Commission to handle complaints against journalists and media houses.

While its independence has been welcomed, critics argue that the complaints organ has been undermined by giving the state-controlled Multimedia and Communications Tribunal, a creature of the Kenya Information and Communication Amendment Bill, jurisdiction to hear its appeals.

Debate on the Media Council Bill was acrimonious, resulting into negotiations between media owners and MPs.

The Complaints Commission is expected to be set up within two weeks of the enactment of the law. A selection panel would be drawn from the Kenya Union of Journalists, media owners, the Editors’ Guild, the Law Society and the Public Relations sector.

The Gender Commission, the Association of Professionals, the Federation of Consumers, the Communications ministry and the Kenya News Agency will be represented, while two members would come from journalism schools.

Media owners were concerned that changes proposed to the structure and management of the Media Council of Kenya would weaken it through state control.

Provisions of the new law affect media enterprises, journalists, media practitioners, locally accredited foreign journalists and consumers of media services.

The council will develop and regulate ethical and disciplinary standards for journalists, practitioners and enterprises in the industry.

The Complaints Commission will handle any complaints filed against players in the industry.

Anyone aggrieved by any publication or conduct of a journalist or media enterprise may file written complaint with the commission.

While passing the Bill, MPs insisted that it was within constitutional provisions and argued that the freedom of the media was not absolute but was subject to limitations spelt out in the Constitution.

The Media Owners Association had asked for a revision of the provisions to take into account media self-regulation.

They had asserted that existing structures of the Media Council and its existing complaints section were effective and only required strengthening by bolstering the independence of the council.

Despite protests and negotiations, MPs passed the Media Council Bill and the Kenya Information and Communication Amendment Bill.

The latter proposed stiff penalties for media houses and journalists that would be fined Sh20 million and Sh500,000 for breaching the code of conduct.