- The AG has recommended that media employees should be barred from either chairing or sitting on the board.
- The AG also warned that public servants and staff of media associations should not be allowed to take up MCK board jobs.
Image: PCS
Attorney General Justin Muturi has given a radical advisory on the composition of the Media Council of Kenya.
The AG has recommended that media employees should be barred from either chairing or sitting on the board to secure the council's independence.
He said MCK should be free from government, political or sectoral interests and should maintain independence during the term of service.
The AG also warned that public servants and staff of media associations should not be allowed to take up MCK board jobs.
"That a public officer is precluded from seeking membership to either the chairperson or member of the media council under section 7(1) of the Act," he said.
He said the situation where the said persons sit on the board compromises the council's ability to regulate the media.
The recruitment of the board members started last week, but it has been hit with controversy.
“That having an interest in a media house for whatever reason which might cause a potential conflict of interest situation in the functioning of the Media Council precludes a person from being the Chairperson or Member of the Council,” the AG said in his letter.
This came just hours after the petition successfully obtained court orders stopping the recruitment pending the hearing and determination of a case filed at the Employment and Labour Relations Court.
Muturi urged the MCK board selection panel chaired by Emmanuel Juma to critically look at the issues he raised in his seven-page letter addressed to ICT Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo.
“Make an independent assessment of the objectivity and impartiality of all persons seeking to be either chairperson or member of the council and where an interest is demonstrated which amounts to a conflict of interest situation in the functioning of the council then the person is not eligible to be considered for membership in the council unless the person ceases to hold such an interest,” the AG said.
The AG also affirmed that public servants cannot be recruited as MCK chairpersons or board members.
Seven applicants were shortlisted for the post of chairperson.
They include former Chairperson Joseph Muiruri, Kenya Editors Guild Chairperson Churchill Otieno and Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Communications Director Tabitha Mutemi.
Also shortlisted is Kenya Union Journalists Secretary-General Erick Oduor, Communication Specialist Peter Mutie, Kennedy Onyonyi Head of Marketing and Communication of Kenya Revenue of Authority as well as lecturer Susan Karago who served as a board member.