Mudavadi criticises Uhuru over media Bill

By Luke Anami

NAIROBI, KENYA: AMANI coalition leader Musalia Mudavadi has criticised President’s Uhuru Kenyatta’s memorandum on the contentious Media Bill saying the recommendations failed far short of addressing the concerns of the Media.

Instead he advised the media Council to immediately engage the Parliament Committee on Energy, Communication and Information in a move to resolve a section of contentious clauses that the president failed to address.

“The President’s memorandum does not address the concerns raised by the Media Council effectively. As per Parliamentary procedures, Parliament will only debate the issues the president pointed out which still leaves the major areas of concern still pending,” Mudavadi said in an interview with the Standard.

He noted that the National Assembly will only debate the issues as raised by the President’s memorandum thereby leaving out a large number of contentious issues that will adversely affect the media.

“The Media Council therefore needs to re-engage the Parliamentary committee on Information urgently on the shortcomings that have not been reflected in the memorandum.”

In the Memorandum to the Kenya Information and Communications (Amendment) Bill 2013, to the National Assembly, Uhuru has maintained the fines against the media and the individual journalist thereby criminalising the profession.

He has also left the powers of the tribunal to recommend the deregistration of journalists intact among other contentious issues.

The president reinstated a clause to give the Cabinet secretary of Information and Communication powers to issue ‘guidelines of general nature’ which parliament had earlier deleted.

“The president did not go far enough in addressing the concerns and the shortcomings of the media. The media council needs to move with speed to address what it has left out,” Mudavadi who has criticised the bill said.

Mudavadi observed that freedom of the press was critical in addressing devolution and the issues of governance that are critical for a young democracy such as Kenya.