ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru has urged the new Media Council of Kenya Board to uphold integrity and professionalism in the industry.
Mucheru said the council should prioritise journalists’ welfare and
ensure media owners’ business interests are balanced through a conducive environment. “My ministry is concerned with the increasing incidents of deaths, threats and intimidation against journalists.
This has created anxiety among media practitioners,” he said.
Mucheru spoke in Nairobi when he commissioned the new MCK board.
Mucheru urged media houses to be objective, fair and issue balanced reports ahead of the elections.
“Avoid stories that will polarise the country,” he said. MCK chairman Charles Kerich urged the ministry to fast-track gazettement of the Complaints Commission to adjudicate pending cases and restore confidence in self-regulation.
“As we speak there about 100 cases against the media which can only be heard by the commission,” Kerich said.
He added that the commission is the council’s nerve centre as it holds the media to account.
“It provides a platform where Kenyans can express their dissatisfaction with the media,” the MCK boss said. Kerich appealed to the ICT Cabinet Secretary to ensure fines against media houses under the criminal defamation clauses in the Information and Communications Amendments Act are reviewed.
The council is concerned about the Sh20 million against media houses and Sh500,000 fines on individual journalists. This in itself still hurts media freedom, Kerich said. On training, the MCK chief said the council has set a committee to develop a standardised curriculum for journalism schools.
