HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 216410,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/216410/?format=api",
"text_counter": 222,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. G.G. Kariuki",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 330,
"legal_name": "Godfrey Gitahi Kariuki",
"slug": "gg-kariuki"
},
"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to also air my views on this Bill. This Bill ought not to have been here if the media was 2192 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES July 3, 2007 willing to deal with the matter before we got into this situation. I understand that the Bill has been there for nearly ten years. It was first published in 1994. The Government must have been expecting the media to change its behaviour and adopt itself into good reporting and responsible journalism. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the media is responsible, just like politicians are, for peace and stability in this country. There is no way you can single out the media as the one which causes problems in any nation. The media shares that responsibility with politicians, and especially with Members of Parliament, as well as with warlords, in any given state. Time has come for politicians and the media to accept their responsibility. We are seated here to regulate the behaviour and conduct of the media, but the media has no opportunity, as we have, to regulate the behaviour and conduct of Members of Parliament, and those of leaders of any given country. So, it is my view that until the media, and politicians, accept their responsibility in building the nation of a given state, we shall continue to be in this muddle. The media is a very important tool, in the absence of law, for regulating the behaviour of politicians. That is why politicians do not fear being called \"corrupt\", but they fear appearing on the front pages of newspapers, being described as corrupt men and women. That is deterrence, which members of the public can also get from the media. The media should not be condemned for all the evils that happen in a country, for example, in the case of Rwanda. It is not the media which throws the first stone. It is the politicians who do so. I feel sorry when we direct our ammunition to the media, without directing the same to the politicians. Until the time we will have responsible politicians, that is the time we will have responsible journalists. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we are a developing country. An hon. Member, while contributing to this Bill, referred to Britain and the United States of America (USA). It is very difficult to compare Kenya with the United Kingdom or USA. In those countries, there are many opportunities for journalists to be employed. They behave responsibly because of their knowledge and talent. But in this country, the shortage of employment opportunities is a major problem. Journalists in this country have families just like we do. Therefore, they just follow what the editorial board wants. They write what they are directed to or expected of by the media groups. Unless our economy becomes stronger and advanced, our reporters will not be in a position to report responsibly. He or she will have no principles to apply. He or she will not be sure of getting another job when sacked. Because of lack of job opportunities, we cannot expect independent and responsible journalism. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have to give credit to our journalists for what they have done. It is not the law which has stopped the dangerous vice of corruption. Corruption levels have gone down by almost 30 per cent. The levels have gone down because the Press has woken up and said what the leadership of this country is doing. They have done a commendable job since Independence. My expectation of responsible journalism or media is to fight poor governance. Poor governance is not created by the media. It is created by the leadership and the politicians. Poor leadership is our greatest problem. That problem needs to be exposed in and out of Parliament, so that the wider public is educated against their leaders. For a long time, we have taken advantage of our people because of lack of exposure, information and knowledge about situations. We do what we want to do because we can tell the public there will be an election, and that election will be forced by politicians. The politicians will be elected again, no matter how bad they have been. We have taken advantage of the lack of awareness of our people. That is a very important issue. The media should hammer it very hard and explain about the human politicians. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, as I said, the media has given service to this nation by fighting corruption. I admit that, sometimes, they misreport issues. But do they have the July 3, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2193 opportunity of knowing the truth? Are they given any opportunity to know the truth? If they have no opportunity to know the truth, they report gossip. That gossip will be taken as if the media is working against the nation. Time has come for the Minister for Information and Communications and hon. Members to avail themselves to the Press, and tell them what they think. But there is no way we can regulate human minds. We cannot regulate the Press to the extent that it will not make money. It is just in business like any other business! The media is looking for advertisements. They want to say what they think is sellable to the people. They are not there to run a business that is not making money. In fact, they have survived! We should start thinking about having our own journalists. At one point, the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) became a Government tool. It was not telling the people the truth! They used to air news about the chiefs, DOs, Ministers and so on. The public decided to forget that damn thing! That station was forgotten until very recently, when they tried to rejuvenate it. It is now growing again. The public will not entertain a media house which is just there for praising the Government, Ministers, hon. Members and others. The public wants to be told the other side of the story. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, there is no way newspapers can survive without reporting what they think is sellable to the people. The only problem that we have concerns the gutter Press, which is neither regulated nor registered by any organisation. They have defeated the Government. But there is nothing that can defeat the Government. Those papers have not been dealt with because some of us are shareholders in those little newspapers. That is why we cannot make a move. No one can tell me that the police do not know where the gutter newspapers come from. No one can tell me that the Minister for Information and Communications does not know the owners of those papers. I need to be told the truth that, for goodness sake, the Government does not know the owners! I challenge the Minister to say that they do not know those people. In fact, I will fail to understand what they know! On the issue of reporting scandals, it is up to the Press to be in a position to prove whatever they report. They have to be responsible. They must disclose the source of their information and inform the country responsibly that so and so has done \"A\", \"B\", \"C\" and \"D\". Let that be known as a fact. In my view, no rational leader would want to muzzle the Press because no leadership can survive without the support of the Press. It has to inform the public what that leadership wants. It can only be done by the Press. Therefore, I do not agree with hon. Members who are saying that the Government is out to muzzle the Press or deny the Press the independence of reporting. I said that there was no need for this Bill if the Press really behaved the way it is expected to. For the last 10 to 15 years, the Press ought to have read the mind of the Government. We are lucky here because we may be told that we are a dictatorial kind of State. But I think there is no other free country in Africa today like Kenya, in terms of Press freedom. That freedom needs to be protected so that it is not abused by a few reckless reporters. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in the case of the Rwanda genocide, for example, I said that the Press cannot be blamed for what happened. It is the politicians and the Press. Those are the people who caused the problem. The person who throws the first stone is always the politician, and not the Press. If we have to regulate the conduct of the media, we also have to start thinking about regulating the character and behaviour of politicians. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the establishment of the Media Council and the Media Advisory Board is okay. There is no organisation without this kind of regulatory body. However, I think that if you look at the schedule of the Media Council and Advisory Board, you will find that it is very good for both sides; the Government and the Press. In fact, the Government is not, in any 2194 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES July 3, 2007 way, trying to stop freedom of Press. There must be somewhere to take the disputes by either sides. Even an individual who is aggrieved needs to have an opportunity to air his or her views. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, as one of my friends argued, why would other professionals, like lawyers, have a body that regulates its conduct? Even without this piece of legislation, we expect the media to start working on how to harmonise their business. They must make sure it is a business like any other, without necessarily bragging that they can muzzle politicians. This is not the case. There should not be any political match between politicians and the Press. The public expects to hear the truth from both sides. The consumer will then feel satisfied with what is being said. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I also support the accrediting of foreign media. All foreign media are dumped in this country. Even the crazy ones are brought into Kenya. I think---"
}