Journalists split over threats by Media Council to de-register those with political interests
Journalists are deeply split over Media Council of Kenya’s threat to deregister reporters and editors who have shown interest in political office.
MCK chairman Charles Kerich, who is also the Radio Africa editor-in-chief, on Wednesday said the Code of Conduct for the Practice of Journalism in Kenya does not allow journalists to take political sides and asked those aspiring to contest in the next elections to quit office or have their accreditation withdrawn.
However, Kenya Union of Journalists Secretary General Eric Oduor sees the new demand as a gagging order, arguing that journalists should be allowed to be politically inclined just like other professionals. “The Media Council guidelines on journalists with political interests should not be taken seriously by journalists,” he said in a statement. Those are illegal guidelines that suppress freedom of expression. In other countries journalists are usually affiliated to political ideologies.”
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Oduor said the Media Council Council of Kenya should come up with a framework that will allow journalists as professionals to take a stand on political issues to deal with the confusion it is trying to address rather than resorting to gagging. “We must avoid KANU style of addressing problems in the industry. Civil servants are given a period to leave office to start campaigns. What about journalists? Is it one year? Two years? One week?” he added.
However, the statement has sparked a heated debate on social media with MCK chief executive Haron Mwangi insisting the media must be rid of politicians as it is a public place.
“Are we going to allow those that have declared interest to vie for political posts to use this space to propagate personal interests?
“MCK is not gagging anyone but all we are saying is that we have a clear code of conduct on behaviour and conduct of journalists in the newsroom. We have to push for this because it is the right thing to do and media should remain a public-interest space run by professional and responsible journalists and not simply a megaphone for a few politicians and political parties,” he said.
According to Mwangi, political parties in Kenya do not have ideologies that one can say a journalist is identifying with neither do media houses declare political support for particular parties or candidates as happens in other countries. He also said the media is a public place that cannot be allowed to be a parochial space for a few journalists pushing specific agenda for their pay masters.
Legal framework needed
But Oduor insisted the issue should be addressed in a broader perspective and not through threats and challenged MCK to come up with a policy backed by law. “Other professionals have political inclinations as well. The council needs to develop a framework backed by law like civil servants to specify when such journalists are supposed to leave newsrooms,” he said.
Former Standard reporter Geoffrey Mosoku warned MCK it risks being seen as politically biased, noting that there are journalists who have openly been supporting Jubilee since 2012 and yet the council only took a position after State House Digital Communications Director Dennis Itumbi raised issue with KTN journalist Mohammed Ali’s links to Cord leader Raila Odinga. Mwangi denied this.
Other journalists who contributed to the debate were split in the middle with some backing MCK while others rooted for the KUJ position.
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