Ezekiel Mutua is just a puppet, let’s face his puppeteers

 Ezekiel Mutua Photo: Courtesy

Almost two years ago, when Kenyan media was being told so many things about freedom and regulations by the government, I had a chat on Twitter with a local movie maker I have known for so many years.

Actually, it was not much of a chat, but an argument because I went past my mandatory three tweets. At that time, the media were getting bashed by anyone with access to a keyboard or a keypad.

The parental authority’s legal and self-appointed surrogates were breathing down the media’s collective neck, and their operative word was “regulation”.

They were not just blaming the media for all the ills in this country even long before it got independence, but all the problems it will face in the future.

“The rains have been failing because of the media...” “We have so many road accidents because the media is not doing its part...”

“Poverty levels are high because the media has failed to tell the people how to be corrupt....” “Corruption is the legal tender in Kenya because the media has refused to help the government fight corruption...”

“The authorities are lethargic because the media has refused to energise them...” “People are dying of hunger because the media does not air stories about food insecurity...”

“Tourism numbers are tanking because the media does not give airtime to tourism gurus who go to Europe for shopping in the name of marketing Kenya...”

Basically, everything was being blamed on the media. And so, the government decided that the media needed to be regulated, because they had failed to regulate themselves.

When they are regulated, it was argued, by a government so keen on regulating every sector except itself, the country’s fortunes would change overnight because it had been discovered that everything in Kenya was, and is rosy, and any negative stories are invented by the media.

The movie-maker gentlemen I have known for many years was so elated that regulation was coming media’s way that he took to Twitter to thank his lucky gods and castigate the media.

He implied that journalists have been creating negative stories and that they are cry-babies and the media must be gagged for this country to achieve all its goals. Put differently, he was insinuating that media has locked this country’s potential!

“Boss, you are missing the bigger picture. Stop praying for these gagging orders because everyone will be affected.” There is nothing Kenyans enjoy more than calling the media names.

Many years ago, drinking copious amounts of alcoholic beverages — first, second, third or even fourth generation and losing their eyesight or causing road accidents — used to be Kenyans’ favourite pastime.

Times have changed. Nowadays, bashing the media is the main thing. It’s a fad of sorts. Whenever someone is broke, tired, idle or bored, but has access to a keyboard or a keypad, he/ she starts ranting about the media and how unprofessional Kenyan journalists are.

Or how journalists are the worst things to have happened to Kenya — worse than famine and corruption and public servants whose job description is stealing public funds.

And so, as the movie-maker continued expressing his satisfaction those many months ago, I told him that it could be the media’s turn now, or at that moment, but he should not be surprised if movie makers are next because the paranoid government is infatuated with regulation as if it was the 70s when script writers and playwrights were getting detained or forced in to exile.

Last week, the movie-maker, looking forlorn. was in what he called a “discussion” whose theme was regulation and the subject matter was Kenya Film Classification Board has proposals which will affect production of movies.

The KFCB boss, Ezekiel Mutua, MBS was in this “discussion” too, trying to explain so many things about KFCB’s latest move which like the previous ones in which he invoked morality, made him the villain, an Enemy of the People or rather, of industries such as film and the media.

Never in the history of this country has one person received so much flak in such a short period of time as Ezekiel Mutua has. The proposals he puts forward have been called “Draconian”, and every adjective to do with dictatorial, archaic, outdated, dispiriting and even silly and stupid have been thrown his way.

Folks, Mutua is just an employee; actually, a representative of the Executive, and during the debate on gagging the media, it was clear that the government was the culprit and wanted to roll back the gains Kenyans had made after fighting for freedom of speech.

Actually, blaming Mutua for all these Draconian and silly proposals is giving him too much credit because he is a very small pawn in the regulation chessboard.

Kenyans need to confront the top most politicians and senior public servants who are behind Mutua with these outdated dictatorial shenanigans.

Just look across the board, there is a representative of these dark forces trying to meddle in everything.