Kibaki tells journalists to keep off his events if not invited

By Stephen Makabila

The media will not be allowed to cover all public events attended by President Kibaki.

A Presidential Press Service (PPS) dispatch last evening indicated the media will only cover public functions attended by the President if officially notified by State House.

The drastic move, likely to be viewed as an affront on media freedom, follows an Editorial carried by The Standard yesterday, decrying the way presidential guards have lately been handling journalists in some public functions.

Thrown out

A presidential security guard leads away a TV cameraman from the home of George Itumbi where President Kibaki was attending a funeral last Friday. [PHOTO: George Mulala/standard]

The Director of the Media Institute David Makali raised the same concerns in a commentary penned in one of the local dailies yesterday.

In its Editorial, The Standard had indicated that twice in as many weeks, presidential security guards had harassed and thrown out journalists at two separate burials attended by the Head of State, last month and last Friday.

Last month, journalists were harassed in Central Province while last Friday, the same happened in Nanyuki.

"Journalists have never refused to be vetted or even frisked at presidential functions, but when they are manhandled or harassed, the result is counter-productive," read the Editorial

Pay for it

Mr Makali had on his part, cited four successive incidents where presidential guards harassed journalists, starting with the New Year Eve party in Mombasa.

"The President is an exalted position by any estimation and the public is interested in his appearance, what he says, how he behaves and everything he does because they pay for it," noted Makali in his commentary.

The PPS statement stated that: "While such incidents are regrettable, and that while State House recognises that the public has a right to know what the country’s chief executive is doing, this does not entail the total abnegation of the privacy of the Head of State."

"As all media houses will concede, press alerts are issued ahead of presidential functions inviting media and detailing the event, time and venue. As all media houses will further agree, no such notification and invitation was made for the two occasions that have been cited," read the PPS statement in part.

It went on: "We urge media houses to respect this standard practice in order to avoid misunderstanding and unedifying incidences in future".

The statement further sought to portray Kibaki as a staunch believer in the freedom of the Press, citing multiplicity of radio and television stations, newspapers and magazines that offer wide-ranging programs.

"We are concerned that these articles have on the basis of these two incidents questioned the commitment of the President to Press freedom," It stated.

It further stated that whereas the importance of the freedom of media cannot be questioned, it should also be clear that freedom cannot be exercised without responsibility.

"It must also be appreciated that the media wields a double-edged sword. Media reports can serve to build or to destroy, to unite or to divide people," the PPS statement further noted.