At least 3,500 journalists in Kenya are unregistered, raising the possibility of quacks in the profession, the Media Council has said.
MCK boss David Omwoyo yesterday said only 3,500 of the 7,000 practising journalists are registered.
Omwoyo said MCK is working on a plan to weed quacks. He accused them of going against media ethics and violating the codes of conduct in the profession.
"Many people do not have accreditation. Some are practising as journalists yet they have not been trained. They give the media a bad name," Omwoyo said.
He was speaking in Mombasa during a forum on fake news.
He said the council is formulating a bill that will criminalise practising journalism without accreditation.
"We will then be able to isolate, profile and deal with those who are masquerading as journalists,” Omwoyo said.
Once the draft bill is ready it will be subjected to the public for input and then to Parliament for debate, adoption and later passage into law.
Once passed and gazetted, there will be a window period for compliance before implementation proper is adopted.
The CEO said with the advent of fake news in the world, the social media has become a major conveyor of falsehoods that may be damaging to the reputation of respectable individuals or organizations in the society.
However, he said the MCK complaints commission and a new disciplinary committee that is set to be established will be empowered to deal with rogue journalists.
Those who violate the code of conduct will be deregistered and barred from practicing.
The law enforcement organs like the police will be involved in major cases where journalists
“Our main duty is not to punish journalists but to help them do their work as required,” said Omwoyo.