Press Freedom and Globalisation - International Press Institute

Press Freedom and Globalisation
practice of these huge compensations made media careful and enforced self-censorship. 52
Third, in 1997 President Moi wanted to avoid extensive attention to ethnic clashes. He
used the Public Security Act and curfew to deny journalists entrance into actual areas of
conflict and reduced media’s ability to cover those events. 53
However, the level of press freedom increased through the 1990s. A milestone was
liberalisation of the airwaves even if the first private actors entered broadcasting as result
of political fraternity or struggles in court. 54 An attempt to reduce laws about media has not
been successful. Still, there are about 14 Acts which have implications for media. 55 The
greatest threat to press freedom in Kenya at present under Presiden Mwai Kibaki is
probably self-censorship due to strong laws on defamation and sedition as well as
contempt of court and freedom of speech. 56 Despite self-censorship, media’s activities in
Kenya have shown that a free and vibrant press can be useful in effecting transparency,
democracy and good governance. 57 The alternative press has still an ethnic feature. Yet,
several of the most controversial cases latter years have come up through the alternative
press and then been picked up by the mainstream media. 58 The Kenyan press seems to
perform its role without direct intereference from government 59 although the broadcast
media are still subjected to attempts of control 60 and although President Kibaki’s position
52
Makali (ed.), Media Law and Practice, pp. 181-183 and 192-201.
53
Okello, Rosemary, “Media law past, present and future” in Odero, Mitch and Kamweru, Esther (eds.), Media
culture and performance in Kenya (Nairobi: Eastern Africa Media Institute and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung,
2000), p. 160.
54
Carver, Coliver, Lauriciano, Lush and Maja-Pearce, Who Rules the Airwaves, pp. 33-39.
55
Okello, “Media law past, present and future”, p. 158.
56
Makali (ed.), Media Law and Practice, pp. 181-190, 256, 272-277, 312-313 and 326. One example: Ogutu,
Judy, “Mwau seeks orders to bar ‘The Standard’ ” in The Standard (Nairobi: The Standard Ltd.), news
article, 2 nd March, 2005.
57
Munene, G. Macharia, “Historical Perspectives on Politics and Journalism” in Okigbo, Charles (ed.), Reporting
Politics and Public Affairs (Nairobi: The African Council for Communication Education, 1994), p. 50.
58 st
Oral interview with Kodi Barth, Lecturer of Journalism at USIU, Nairobi, in his office at USIU, 1
September, 2004. E-mail: kbarth@usiu.ac.ke.
59
Kadhi, Joe, in his address at The Media Council of Kenya’s public conferense on “Is There a Place for
Unethical Journalism in Kenya?” at The Stanley Hotel, Nairobi, 1 st March, 2005. Kadhi is member of The
Media Council of Kenya; and Head of Extended Studies and Journalist in Residence at USIU, Nairobi.
60
Daily Nation, “Tuju’s order to censor broadcasts ‘is illegal’ ” in Daily Nation (Nairobi: Nation Media
Group), news article, 2 nd March, 2005.
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