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{
"id": 215213,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/215213/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Muiruri",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Agriculture",
"speaker": {
"id": 238,
"legal_name": "Patrick Kariuki Muiruri",
"slug": "patrick-muiruri"
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"content": " Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I fully support this Bill because of some very important reasons. It seeks to establish the Media Council of Kenya (MCK), the Media Advisory Board (MAB) and the Complaints Committee. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for many years in this country, the media has never been properly regulated. But with the establishment of MCK, MAB and Complaints Committee, we will have some sort of order in journalism. What we have now is irresponsible journalism. You may find a story in the media slurring leaders and hon. Members of this House. The slur would go to the extent of discussing hon. Members of this House and important personalities. The same story is read by their families. The effect of it is very bad! Sometimes, it has even broken families! So, with the establishment of MCK--- What is contained in Section 5 of the Bill is very important. It will make recommendations on the employment criteria of journalists. To me, that means that MCK will vet journalists, get their education backgrounds and ensure that we have proper journalists collecting news in the field. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, what we have now is sometimes very annoying. It is a pity that some of our journalists fall at the pockets of politicians. The politicians use journalists to fight their political enemies from the other end. I strongly believe that with the enactment of this Bill, this will not continue. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to mention something about the gutter press. For a long time, it has been used to slur people in a manner that is inhuman. With the enactment of this Media Bill, I have no doubt, whatsoever, that the question of gutter press would be a matter of the past. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, on the Code of Conduct for the Practice of Journalism, the provisions are very clear. Part (a) says:- \"The fundamental objective of a journalist is to write a fair, accurate and an unbiased story on matters of public interest. All sides of the story shall be reported whenever possible. Comments should be obtained from anyone who is mentioned in an unfavourable context.\" 2312 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES July 5, 2007 This provision is very important to me. On many occasions, we find that a negative story on an institution or an individual is reported by the media. However, they do not even bother to get comments from the other end. So, you will find the story is one-sided and biased. In spite of this fact, the story is already out there and it is with the public who digest it as a true story when it is not. Again, when you try to get corrections, it is normally too late to do so. The message is already received at the other end. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, this Bill is the best for this country. In this House, every day we have a Question on killings. Sometimes people are killed innocently. I would even urge the Minister of State for Administration and National Security to establish an Independent Police Complaints Commission within the police force. At the moment, if a police officer commits a crime or kills somebody wrongly, we find that it is the same police force that investigates the matter. We will find that the Officer Commanding Police Division (OCPD) would like to cover his Officer Commanding Station (OCS) or police officers because it is all within itself. This Bill now opens up the media to ensure fairness. This Bill is the best for this country. It goes ahead and gives independence of the media. It protects the public itself, media owners and journalists. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}