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{
    "id": 403525,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/403525/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 312,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Gichigi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1909,
        "legal_name": "Samuel Kamunye Gichigi",
        "slug": "samuel-kamunye-gichigi"
    },
    "content": "Secretary can decide to pick anybody from the Kenya Union of Journalists, including a sweeper. From the Kenya Correspondents Association, he could pick a watchman. It is not indicated that those persons must be nominated by the mentioned organisations. Therefore, during the Committee Stage, we must indicate that these bodies must be permitted to nominate their representatives. It should not be upon the Cabinet Secretary to just pick anybody who claims to work with these organisations. Secondly, the Bill also states that it is the Cabinet Secretary who will come up with the regulations. I do not think that is right. As a lawyer, I know that we are the people who come up with the regulations that govern us. It happens with other professional bodies. I propose that we permit the media to come up with the regulations. Since those regulations will come to this House for us to approve, if we find that they are too soft on members of the media, we have the power to put more teeth in them. So, it is important that we do not create an environment where the media operates in fear of punishment. We should not give the Government control over the media. In any case, doing so is unconstitutional. Any challenge in a court of law would annul the particular law. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I have also had a look at Clause 15 of the proposed Bill. Again, it is not very good. It provides for the removal of a member of the Media Council. It says that a petition should be forwarded to the Complaints Commission. In other parts of the Bill, the members of the Complaints Commission are actually appointed by the Media Council. This law proposes that if somebody has complaints and wants to file a petition to have a member of the Council removed, he should go to the Complaints Commission, which will look into the petition. If it finds that the member of the Medial Council is at fault, it recommends his removal to the Cabinet Secretary. This being a creation of the Media Council, I do not think they would, again, be the best people to look into such petition. We need to agree on a better mechanism of guiding the removal of a member of the Council. I have said that I am an advocate of a free media but I think the media would be served better in this country if they could also have an element of discipline. I am surprised that the media has not been listed as one of the most corrupt sectors in this county. It is high time employers in the media industry looked into the salary issues. Any politician will tell you that in order for you to be properly covered by the media; you are almost required to part with something. It does not stop there. That person will tell you: “This money is not enough. Part of it has to go to the editor.” So, some of us are not covered by the media because we have refused to be corrupt. I am also aware that there are some people who give money to members of the media to ensure that their opponents are not covered. I am told that it happens even in this House. So, if the media continue with their corrupt practices, the Members of this House will turn against them. At the end of the day, measures will be taken and we will be forced to discipline them. We would want them to discipline themselves. So, we are going to support this Bill. We will ensure that the media is not controlled, so that it can be independent but it is also our duty to put processes and mechanisms in the law that will ensure that rogue media members are also dealt with. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, on the garter Press, as it has been said, people do not just wake up one morning, print a paper and start distributing it, claiming to be The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}