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{
    "id": 460752,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/460752/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 144,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Mati",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2469,
        "legal_name": "G.J. Munuve Mati",
        "slug": "gj-munuve-mati"
    },
    "content": "On a point of information, hon. Speaker, Sir. I thought I should inform my Party Leader, hon. Wakhungu, that the Cabinet Secretary, Mr. Matiang’i has written a very long letter, three pages to be exact, dislaiming anything attributed to him by the media. The Chairman of the Committee is in possession of that letter. He has specifically demanded the Daily Nation Newspaper to withdraw the statement attributed to him, that he was not involved in the development of this Bill. Basically, you can see the malice that is going on. Somebody out somewhere wants to create a conflict between us and the Cabinet Secretary. But since I have this opportunity, I should remind us that the media has come a long way. When we passed the new Constitution, it became like independence, which made a lot of things different to different people. To the cook of the white man, it meant that he could move from the servant quarter to the main house. To the manual labourer in a farm in Nyeri, it meant that they could move to the master’s house and own the farm. The media thinks that because we have a new Constitution, there should be no responsibilities to whatever they want to do. Many Members of Parliament and I regret this, over the weekend denounced a Parliamentary Committee without being seized of the matter and without even reading the actual Bill. They quoted the Media Council Bill, which is a different Bill from the Kenya Information and Communications (Amendment) Bill that we are discussing. This was a bit irresponsible to some of our brothers and sisters. They made it look like Parliament just basically passes things without consultation. As a Member of the Committee, I have sat with the Media Council and the media fraternity at the Intercontinental Hotel more than twice. I have also sat with them in Mombasa more than two times. I remember asking their Chairman, hon. Kittony, how we can have a structure that is funded by the taxpayer whereby, the President, Parliament and the Judiciary have nothing to do with it. He said that the Law Society of Kenya is such an institution. We said, well, the Law Society is such an institution, but it does not get a cent from the taxpayer. How will we make the media accountable for whatever will be voted for it by Parliament every year? He said they did not want to be controlled. Nobody wants to control the media. That is why we put the appointment of this body to the Judicial Service Commission as opposed to Parliament, the President or the Cabinet Secretary. I beg us, as Members of Parliament, to read this document before we embarrass ourselves before the media. Read this document, so that, at least, we know, first, which document we are talking about and secondly, what is offending in it. There are two documents that are circulating. There is the Kenya Information and Communication Bill and the Media Council Bill. Most of the statements that I saw being attributed to some of my brothers and sisters refer to the Media Council Bill, which has not come before this House or, at least, has not been passed. With those few remarks, thank you. I wish to ask my Chairman to read the statement by the Cabinet Secretary recanting what is attributed to him by the DailyNation ."
}