Media always the first casualty of repression

The pace at which Kenya is slowly returning to its dark past is worrying. Whenever a government begins to embrace dictatorship, the first pillar to be brought under State control is the media.

Much can be said about the media and where it has fallen short of its role as the Fourth Estate — it is not infallible, and in many instances has left itself open to claims of bias and lack of professionalism — but gagging the press is extreme.

The attempt to cripple non-governmental organisations is the other part of this worrying trend, where the Jubilee government appears to be moving at breakneck speed to kill voices of dissent.

As a newspaper that has borne the brunt of misplaced State aggression — when copies of the next day’s paper were burnt outside our press under the supervision of foreign mercenaries — we cringe at the latest developments. Those old enough to recall the days of the Kanu regime will also see other signs, including the rush by private companies to shower praises and gifts on the Government.

At the height of State repression in Kenya in the 90s it was not uncommon for private firms to ensure they were on the “right side” of government by placing adverts in newspapers to affirm their support for various political initiatives during national events, and to contribute heavily to the same. You were forever marked as anti-government if you didn’t.

There are certain facts that cannot be sugarcoated to make them more palatable. The mutilation of the Constitution by the Jubilee-controlled Parliament is a case in point. This has been facilitated by the so-called “tyranny of numbers”, something Jubilee is proud to own and use at will.

We now have a presidency so powerful that it can change the Constitution piecemeal using the power of the Jubilee coalition in Parliament, without resorting to a referendum. Where will it all end?

As all of us mark our nation’s 50th anniversary on Thursday, we would do well to reflect on these matters with an open mind.