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{
    "id": 216434,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/216434/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 246,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Capt. Nakitare",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 348,
        "legal_name": "Davis Wafula Nakitare",
        "slug": "davis-nakitare"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. The Media Bill, under the statutes of any country, protects both the society and the writers. As the saying goes; \"Communication is power.\" Communication in this case is enhanced by the media. We discussed this issue and references were made. My question is: While the United States of America was under the British rule for many years, they had the freedom of speech. The first amendment to the laws of America expresses the freedom of speech. Therefore, there is no way that the media can be muzzled. The media controls itself within the framework of the country's laws. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I do not see the reason why anyone can say that we should give autonomy to groups of people who are in business. We are very well aware that media houses mischievously misuse journalists. I emphasise this because journalists are underpaid. When journalists are underpaid, that is where the creation of paparazzis is; competition for news or collection of information to sell for money and soliciting for money from the information centres, who are the people, for the purpose of selling to the media houses in order that they can raise enough money for a living. We have the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) and we look at the media, which is not a laughing matter. When you say freedom, it does not balance. When you look at the Information Technology and Communication (ICT) now, it baffles me as much as it baffles you for what comes out of the media. The Kenya Film Corporation (KFC) has been unable to filter good information for publicity in our country. The cyber cafes have come through computers and the messages we get through this communication of the internet is blasphemous to African society. It abuses us, it teaches us and it brainwashes us because somebody picks a topic and spreads it across the world for amusement, publicity or to raise money for a purpose. How many of these cyber houses have been controlled? There has been money laundering through the internet and most of these countries have been aware of particularly where this technology came from and they have 2200 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES July 3, 2007 laws now to govern communication. It is not for the purpose of harassing or denying businesses from the media houses, but it is because of upholding sanity in the society! I benefitted by attending the Media Bill workshop in Naivasha and we interrogated this issue. The Minister agrees that, yes, we have to clip some wings. Otherwise, if you leave the media houses under their own autonomy, it will be ridiculous. But again, will the Government fund the media houses? But we arrived at a situation where we said that if they are given autonomy, then media houses must be self-financing so that they do not have to underwrite information and employment that solicits money through corruption. There is a lot of highlighting of corruption by the media houses. But there is also a lot of corruption in journalism and there has to be a code of conduct that controls this. We have seen this when there is piracy in music. Music houses also came up and said: \"We must have regulations that will bar people from misusing the trademark\". That is under the Statutes! It was a very interesting point when the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs was emphasizing about statutory laws. This is a country that is governed by law. We are not in a jungle where everybody will want to wake up and be---"
}