Lack of media policy curtails press freedom

This year’s World Press Freedom Day celebrations are being held in Accra, Ghana, on Thursday.

The global event, at which Kenya is represented, will highlight milestones and challenges that place countries on the global map on the status of media freedom, freedom of expression and access to information.

In the past year, the Kenyan media has experienced some of the most frightening events in its history. We witnessed journalists being brutally attacked by police officers as well as politicians and their supporters — as we saw at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and Wiper Party headquarters recently.

Suppose this behaviour spilled into a hospital theatre, where doctors are carrying out a very sensitive medical procedure, or in a courtroom, where a high-profile case is being adjudicated. The world would be up in arms against attacks on doctors and the legal fraternity.

LIBERALISED AIRWAVES

In the early 1990s, Kenya liberalised its airwaves and adopted a pluralistic media, setting the stage for a bold and authoritative press, a catalyst for good governance.

If the billions of shillings it controls and thousands of jobs it creates are anything to by, the media should be viewed not as a conveyer belt, only relevant at press conferences, but a vital ingredient in the baking of the national cake.

It is sad to see a government that was formed under the most progressive Constitution in this part of the world unleash a vicious crackdown on the media in proportions never witnessed even when press freedom was not guaranteed by the law.

In the recent past, local media has had to contend with hostilities from the State, politicians and business community seeking to operate, and thrive, in a ‘man-eat-man’ society.

HUMAN RIGHTS

Kenya is a signatory to the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, United Nations Plan Action and African Union Charter on Human and People’s Rights, all which advocate for freedom of the media and of expression as well as access to information as fundamental human rights.

But it has shown no commitment to ensuring that all the international instruments are not only ratified but respected.

The unwarranted attacks on the media are often ‘justified’ by claims of the need to rein in a “rogue media” that does not adhere to the code of conduct for the practice of journalism as per the Media Act 2013.

MEDIA POLICY

At Teleposta Towers, the seat of the Ministry of Information, Communications and Technology, it seems the agenda of the media was thrown out of the window. In this government, media was lumped with ICT under one Principal Secretary.

Almost 55 years after Independence, the government does not have a media policy to ensure that the contribution of the ‘Fourth Estate’ is understood and harmonised with other relevant policies to promote the national development agenda.

The policy would be the ultimate answer to the government’s nightmares on how to relate with the media. The hostilities between the two entities can be avoided when the role of the media in a modern society is clearly understood as critical rather than being seen as an enemy of a mouthpiece of certain interest groups.

POSITIVE IMPACT

While we acknowledge that a dichotomy between the State and the media’s agenda is normal; the role of the media must be well understood, so that the State can concentrate on activities that have a positive impact on citizens.

Progressive countries have media policies, which are used for the common good of the public — where the media and the State are accountable to the public. In such an environment, the State can work with the media to promote its agenda in a civilised manner.

 Mr Oduor is the secretary-general, Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ). [email protected]