Media ought to play a more effective watchdog

In June 2016, a residential building collapsed in Huruma Estate, Nairobi. A few weeks earlier, another building had collapsed in the same area, killing 52 tenants and injuring many others. [Photo: Willis Awandu/Standard, Standard]

That the media is the society’s watchdog is an oft-used maxim meant to demonstrate and reinforce the importance of the media and journalism in society. In essence, the media is supposed to safeguard the public against (often political) excesses, corruption, bad and unaccountable leadership.

In the Kenyan political environment where the Opposition is emasculated, the media have played a critical role by providing information that helps people hold their leadership to account. Thus the people still have hope in the media given the failing leadership that is often transactional and not transformational.