Press freedom: Journalists working in increasingly intolerant conditions
Citizen TV cameraman Reuben Ogachi recuperating at Aga Khan Hospital in Mombasa after an attack by GSU officers in Tana River. PHOTO | KEVIN ODIT | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- He asked the companies to be fair and balanced in their reporting to reduce the apparent antagonism between the government and the media.
- Mr Kaikai asked the government to respect and appreciate the importance of a free and independent media for the good of the country.
- He appealed to the government to take action against General Service Unit officers who recently attacked journalists at a ranch in Tana River.
The Jubilee administration will continue to stand by the new security laws passed last year, despite criticism by some local and international lobbies that they suppress press freedom.
Deputy President William Ruto further said the perception that Jubilee was against press freedom was a misunderstanding of the government’s persistent call for fair and balanced reporting of its activities.
He said the government does not regret passing the Security Laws (Amendment) Act 2014, adding that the effectiveness of the legislation was already being seen in the way the recent terrorist attack at the Garissa University College was reported.
“We did not see any disturbing images of the dead and no media house had to apologise to any families for the way the journalists did their work. This is because the media houses were properly guided by the laws, and this is a good thing,” he said.
He asked the companies to be fair and balanced in their reporting to reduce the apparent antagonism between the government and the media.
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE
“We are not seeking to turn our media into public relations channels for the government. But we are asking for balanced, fair and objective reporting. There are both positive and negative things happening in the country, and these need to be represented with equal fairness,” he said.
The DP spoke on Monday during this year’s World Press Freedom Day celebrations at the Intercontinental Hotel in Nairobi. They were organised by the Media Council of Kenya.
He was responding to comments by Kenya Editors Guild Chairperson Linus Kaikai that the local media had been experiencing increasing aggression and hostility from the Jubilee administration.
Mr Kaikai asked the government to respect and appreciate the importance of a free and independent media for the good of the country.
“The media is just a mirror of society,” he said. “Even if we were to present Kenya positively to the world, we cannot avoid presenting the negative aspects of our own society. We also share in the shame of such negative publicity.”
He appealed to the government to take action against General Service Unit officers who recently attacked journalists at a ranch in Tana River.
