A media watchdog has urged Coast Region residents to maintain peace in the forthcoming August polls.
Media Council of Kenya (MCK) in collaboration with HAKI Africa has teamed up to deliberate on ways to foster a working relationship between residents, journalists and different stakeholders.
MCK Mombasa Regional Coordinator Maureen Mudi said that there are many areas of important collaboration that requires everyone’s input.
“We have very many areas of convergence with what human rights organizations do and we will always strive to ensure journalists as human rights defenders do their work diligently,” said Mudi.
The two entities agreed to have an early warning response forum for approximately 30 journalists, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) and security officers.
Mudi said that HAKI Africa and MCK plan to create a formidable collaboration and information sharing system and joint media monitoring during the electioneering period.
HAKI Africa executive director Khalid Hussein said that the media is important because of the power of information that reaches out to the masses.
“We acknowledge the media as key partners in our work, and we want to involve them since they are crucial in reaching out to the masses through the dissemination of information,” Khalid said.
They also noted the importance of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) and the need to hold a sexual harassment workshop geared towards sensitizing female journalists in the region.
Khalid noted that HAKI Africa offers free legal representation for any gender-related cases and counselling to victimize journalists.
