Stakeholders express fury over Uhuru’s proposals on new law

By ROBERT NYASATO  and Rawlings Otieno              

Outrage greeted President Uhuru Kenyatta’s proposed version of the controversial Kenya Information and Communication (Amendment) Bill. Yesterday, politicians, rights activists, the umbrella workers body, the Media Owners Association (MOA), Kenya Editors’ Guild (KEG) and Kenya Correspondents Association (KCA) termed sections of the President’s memorandum to the National Assembly a danger to media freedom.

This came on a day that the Parliamentary Committee on Energy, Communication and Information held a closed-door meeting to discuss the President’s memorandum at Parliament Buildings.

In Parliament, Majority Leader Aden Duale said MPs will have to agree with the President’s memorandum come Tuesday or raise sufficient numbers to veto his proposals. The Bill has to be approved by December 5, when MPs are scheduled to go on recess.

“If anyone wants to disagree with the President, you might want to use the weekend to lobby your colleagues to get the two-thirds majority, 233 MPs, for you to approve the amendments,” said Duale.

“The House is expected to go on recess at the end of the year, therefore, the House is obligated to consider and pass these two Bills before we break for recess,” said Duale.

Yesterday, MOA Chairman Kiprono Kittony said the industry would not accept “half measures” in the clamour to protect media freedom and democratic space.

“The Bill should be reviewed to ensure it conforms to the Constitution to the letter. We are not going to take half measures,” Kittony said.

Amani Coalition leader Musalia Mudavadi criticised the President’s memorandum, saying the recommendations fell far short of addressing the concerns of the media.

“The President did not go far enough in addressing the concerns raised by the media. Freedom of the press is critical in addressing devolution and the issues of governance that are critical for a young democracy such as Kenya,” Mudavadi said.

He advised the Media Council to immediately engage the Parliamentary committee to urgently address the shortcomings that have not been reflected in the memorandum.

KEG said the Bill posed grave threats to the freedom and independence of the media in Kenya.

“The Bill still undermines the freedom and independence of the media by seeking to confer on the State-controlled Communications Commission of Kenya (now renamed Communication Authority of Kenya) power to regulate and control media, thereby encroaching on the functions and responsibilities of an independent statutory organ, the Media Council of Kenya,” said KEG Vice-Chair