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30 days of words and pictures workshop

February , 2008

By Redemptor Otieno

In a workshop entitled “30 days in words and pictures: Media response in Kenya during the Election Crisis” held yesterday, participants aired their view of election coverage. Most of them agreed that they took sides depending on the media they covered

The workshop which was organized by Internews Network in Nairobi was held to scrutinize the media’s coverage of the pre and post election crisis and an opportunity for journalists to self audit themselves. Media has of late been accused of fuelling the crisis that has rocked the country.

Media in the limelight

KTN’s reporter Innocent Mbaya accused journalists of ignoring the integrity of Kenya and did not differentiate facts from propaganda

Godfrey Amon, a Daily Nation cartoonist commonly known as “Gado” said reporters have not been true to themselves. “They cheat they are not tribal and yet deep down they are” he remarked and added that biased reporting was also influenced by bribes journalists received from politicians.

Patrick Rukwaro of NTV said journalists reported positions instead of being neutral. He said parties were polarized and journalists reported their parties positions instead of what was on the ground.

Priscilla Nyokabi a Programmes Officer at the Institute Commission of Jurists (ICJ) observed that there was lack of issue based reporting and said coverage was mostly based on personality.

Rachel Nakitare of KBC said media was carried away by the propaganda doing its rounds and forgot professionalism. “Journalists forgot their ethics and showed pictures they shouldn’t have showed” she remarked.

“We have forgotten our work as journalists and taken sides. We shouldn’t have just listened to ECK but talked to returning officers also to get a balanced story” said Anthony Wafula a producer at Radio Waumini.

Mitch Odero a veteran journalist and former board member of Media Council of Kenya (MCK) asked the media to stand out of selective bias in undertaking their duties. He said there can be no reconciliation when past genesis is not addressed. He observed that Kenya has not been exposed to competitive democracy and it is time for the country to rise to that.

He cautioned the media against hate speech which sent Rwanda into genocide. “We should not allow vernacular stations to turn to hate media” he warned.

More reaction to Media Ban

Odero added that the ban on live coverage infringed on the rights of journalists to communicate. He observed that mere restriction on the media amounts to censorship and said the decision on what to censor should lie on the media and not any other body.

Mugambi Kiai, a human rights activist accused the government of falling short of universally agreed principles. “We need to value freedom more than we value whatever consequences” he stated.
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The workshop heard first hand experiences from journalists who covered the post election violence. Media practioners complained about threats to their lives and complained that they felt segregated from the rest of the country.

Journalists have recently received death threats from a group calling itself “the mungiki” who claimed that journalists have taken sides in their reporting.

The media has of late been on the firing squad especially from the government who say it is partly to blame for the violence rocking the country. The minister for information and communication Samuel Poghisio announced last week that he would establish a taskforce to audit the media conduct.

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