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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I rise to also say a few words regarding this Bill. This Bill, as I understand it, does not mean to suffocate or gag the Press. We need some regulation so that we can operate within some framework. The media is an important tool to either progress a country or destroy it. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is important because what you report, even if you correct the following day, is what the people say is the truth. And if what you think you say is the truth is not the truth, we can end up in some catastrophes. I want to give one example. A few months ago, the media, both print and electronic, gave a picture that the entire Meru community was at war and that about 23 homesteads had been set on fire. That sent not only the Meru region but the entire country into a state of panic. Some of us could not continue with proper Business in July 5, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2319 the House. We decided to check on the truth of the matter. Hon. M'Mukindia raised this matter on the Floor of the House and the Minister responded. I was surprised when I went to the ground and the truth of the matter is that only two houses had been torched. I could not believe it! We tried to tell the media: \"Can you, please, correct this,\" but they continued repeating the allegations. If you torch 23 homesteads where there are more than 100 people, that is enough to ignite a war. You know, when you report that, you are asking the other community to come and fight for their people! And this is what we are doing as a media. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I think it is high time the media and all of us started becoming responsible for what we say, print and put up as announcements. If anything, we are worried because, probably, it is a new thing to us in the country. After some time, this thing will settle down. The media will be more responsible than they have been in the past and then we will have a good society. When you open a page in the print media and you read that this happened, you will take for sure that is the truth and that becomes the truth, and then you can act on it. But if you have to wait for one or two days and you know we are talking of news, then the thing is not news any more! So, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I think it is important that we have a regulation to ensure that whatever we give to the public is correct and we ensure that we are responsible people. If anything, the more truth we give as information, the more we are respected, especially those in the world of journalism. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I expected that those involved in the media, that is, the owners and operators would seek some time, and I hope they have sought audience with the Minister or with the people involved so that this Bill is--- The media has been given a chance to give input so that what we are talking here is something which is generally agreed upon, for the benefit of all of us as a country. But I understand that there are other few people from the world of media who are going around lobbying against the Bill. Why would you do that? Why would that be done when we have an established office and the officers in that Ministry would listen, take your input and put it in the Bill so that it is all inclusive? Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have an Assistant Minister in the House. I am hoping that he and the Minister have given the media operators a chance to contribute to the Bill because it is important. If you are setting a law that affects me or somebody else, you are required to give these people a hearing. Otherwise, if that has not been done--- I think communication requires to be done quite quickly, probably before we finish with it so that people are at peace and they can feel that they are part and parcel of the Bill. I think it is important to involve the people that will be affected by the law that we are talking of enacting. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, even other countries, for example, civilized countries like Sweden have this kind of law in place and people there are comfortable. As long as we respect each other's position, I think there is nothing wrong in setting this into law. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, as much as we want to respect those in the world of journalism and the media, it is also important to respect the rights of other people. I have listened--- I sat here listening very, very carefully to Prof. Anyang'-Nyong'o. You know, he went to pains to explain what he went through in Mombasa. He is not alone! There are so many others who have gone through that kind of experience. I think it is important that we respect the rights of other people and where you are talking of passing information that may affect families or individuals' positions in the society, it is important that we do the correct reporting. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, this is the year of elections. If, by mistake, you place in the media some misleading information about a particular candidate from a given constituency, even if you correct so many times, the chances of that candidate being elected may be affected very, very adversely just because of carrying out a story. So, that is why this law is necessary. I 2320 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES July 5, 2007 have no quarrel with the freedom of expression, but then we also require the rights of those other people to be protected. We require that accurate reporting. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is my hope that this Bill has been brought to the House for the purposes of entrenching the freedom of expression. As a country, we have gained a great deal. We have come a long way in giving freedom of expression but we require some responsibility so that we can protect lives and security of our country. I hope that when we give the country this law, it will not be misused or used against the media. I am sure that, that is not the intention of the Government because what purpose does it serve when you suppress your own media? I am proud to look at what we have achieved in terms of electronic and print media, and also employment and other economic gains that we have made by allowing more operators than we had in the past. We should not reverse that. If anything, we want to encourage it so that we develop in that field like we are doing in other fields. We have more room for competition. With competition, then we are entitled to high levels of reporting, including trade, economy and so on. The media can be very educative if it is properly utilised. I want to stop here. With those few remarks, I support the Bill."
}