Impact of media capture on investigative journalism in East Africa

Meet Njeri Mwangi, an activist and early journalism trainee, who exemplifies resilience in investigative reporting. During the Covid-19 pandemic, she delivered The Baby Stealers, a collaborative investigation with BBC Africa Eye that garnered more than three million views online since its release in November 2020.

“I am a mother and I can't imagine losing my children in any way,” Mwangi said. Her investigations have extended their reach through partnerships with local media like KTN-Standard and K24-Mediamax.

In 2022, Mwangi's report on a network smuggling disabled children from Tanzania to beg on Nairobi streets had significant regional impact. “We will never know the compounded effect of how many children we saved from that one trafficker. Hopefully, it also stopped other traffickers from doing the same,” Mwangi reflects.

On the other side of town, we catch up with Francis Ontomwa, with nearly a decade of experience, who emphasises the need for in-depth reporting.

Starting as a regional reporter, Ontomwa noted the lack of detailed coverage of issues such as ethnic clashes and drug problems in Mombasa. After working with international media, he returned to the Standard Group's KTN, leading the investigative desk.

“The biggest challenge I think for me is that newsrooms are not really investing in investigative journalism," Ontomwa says.

He stresses the need for newsrooms to be deliberate about setting up investigative desks to remain competitive.

You were only taken to the investigative desk after your editors confirmed that you have the thorax. Also, there was the element of integrity, that you will not be bent by material things

Ontomwa's significant story on uncovering a paedophile network in Mombasa underscores the societal importance of investigative journalism.

Despite challenges, he believes Kenya offers space for such journalism, crediting the Media Council of Kenya for protecting investigative reporters.

The high costs of investigative journalism

Investigative journalism demands substantial resources. For her beggar exposé, Njeri’s team made costly trips to Mwanza, Tanzania, covering both flights and ground movements. Follow-up costs for court proceedings and ensuring journalist safety are also significant.

Njeri highlights the financial burden, questioning, “Will you be able to follow up on every single one of the investigative stories? Or can you trust that once you've done the exposition, the authorities will do their job?”

Training and mentorship

Veteran journalist Eric Shimoli underscores the effort required to become a good investigative journalist. Recalling his time with pioneering journalists, Shimoli highlights the necessity of curiosity and integrity.

Curiosity is key to becoming a good investigative journalist, says Shimoli, and goes beyond the Google search engine.

“You were only taken to the investigative desk after your editors confirmed that you have the thorax. Also, there was the element of integrity, that you will not be bent by material things,” he says.

As an Associate Editor in the Nation newsroom, Shimoli confirmed the legendary Goldenberg investigation, reported by the Business Editor Peter Warutere, recently dubbed by The Conversation, as Gold fraud: the Goldenberg scam that cost Kenya billions of dollars in the 1990s – and no one was jailed.

“Peter Warutere had actually come up with the alleged scandal that ended up to be Goldenberg, just from reading government books, being able to analyse government documents, from the budget to the auditor... and Comptroller General had reported to Parliament, he was able to pick what is this about gold exports in Kenya, and you can see the curiosity developing,” Shimoli explains.

“He asked himself, where do we mine gold in Kenya? And from that, he was able to come up and say, ‘Hey, this compensation, we don't have gold to this extent in the country’. So, there was that element of curiosity and a bit of expertise that was required for people to be able to come to those desks.” 

Shimoli also broke the Anglo Leasing story during President Mwai Kibaki's tenure, revealing an arms purchase scheme inherited from the Moi government.

These examples showcase the critical role of investigative journalism in uncovering significant corruption.

You see, the reason why people do not do these stories is the way journalists are protected. We usually rely on our friends from Europe and the USA who have come to help us.

Evolving skills and mentorship

Prof George Nyabuga, a lecturer at Aga Khan University, stresses the critical role of investigative journalism in holding the government accountable. He and Ontomwa advocate continuous skill development for the next generation of journalists.

Ontomwa notes a gap in investigative journalism, urging ongoing mentorship to sustain the field.

Kenya’s Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura affirms the government's support for investigative journalism, emphasising its critical role in disseminating information.

Challenges and recommendations

A Friedrich Naumann Foundation report by Prof Nyabuga highlights concerns over punitive measures against media, such as withholding advertisements. Nyabuga criticises newsrooms for not investing in investigative journalism due to financial constraints.

He reflects: “Newsrooms are not investing new money, human capacity building, and they are hardly employing investigative journalists. So that is a failure on their part, mainly because it's expensive and media houses… are interested in making some sort of profit, or at least monetising their content.” 

One recommendation is to establish an independent media support fund to address financial challenges and enhance media independence.

Ontomwa is concerned that: “The space of investigative journalism is in a way shrinking… largely because of so many factors playing around with the government issues and also, of course, media houses are not ready to really invest in investigative journalism”.

But he is in this for the long haul.

According to Kenya Union of Journalists secretary general Eric Oduor, also an Associate Editor at the Nation Media Group, investigative journalism is not taken as seriously as it used to be and faces challenges from the familiar 'zero investment’ to hidden influences.

“Somehow stories are shelved, depending on the different interests, especially commercial interests, by the media, especially investigative journalism touching on the corporates,” he says 

“Also, if a media house is owned by politicians, then that story cannot be investigated by that media house.”

“There's no protection for journalists who do investigative journalism, for some of those stories are very sensitive and journalists who do them require protection,” he explains.  

One such example is Purity Mwambia, whose investigation Guns Galore aired in 2021, and showed how easy it was to get a gun from the police. It took her a year to stand up the evidence that put her in harm's way, leading her to seek protection outside Kenya.

“In such a story you will find that the threat always comes from the people affected by the story,” Oduor says. “You see, the reason why people do not do these stories is the way journalists are protected. We usually rely on our friends from Europe and the USA who have come to help us.” 

We just need to come together as journalists, as media houses. It doesn't matter who you serve, whatever kind of stories you tell, we need to find a way of independence...

Oduor notes, “However…those programmes usually come to an end, they are time bound… you are supposed to enjoy the protection before time lapses, it means you will have to go back to your country, whether the risk has gone down or not.”

Media capture and its impacts

Media capture, according to the Center for International Media Assistance, occurs when media advance the interests of controlling groups rather than public accountability.

Mwaura insists the government supports free media, despite accusations of media capture.

“The Kenya Kwanza Administration has always supported free media, freedom of the press. Always. Even when the mainstream media was against this administration, during the campaigns. So journalists are allowed to investigate,” he says.

But Ontomwa points out, “On media capture, there are stories you cannot tell about the government, that’s true; but I think we cannot despair.”

Shimoli warns individuals can be ‘captured’ too, not just ‘the media’.

“Media capture is applied in various ways, either through the media houses themselves and media owners and editors are involved in media capture. It is not just the government that is involved…Media capture occurs when, for instance, there's pressure to go slow on some issues, or to stop publication of issues that are damaging to save the government altogether,” he explains.

Future of investigative journalism

Despite pressures, the proposed media fund could provide financial and legal support for journalists.

Shimoli advocates collaborative journalism to pool resources and share responsibilities, enhancing investigative reporting.

“It's easier to hit one organisation. But if five organisations are collaborating to bring out something, it's not easy to hit the five. So, collaboration, because of the way the business is today, the challenges that the media business is undergoing, will have to be adopted,” he explains.

Njeri agrees, emphasising the need for journalists and media houses to unite and maintain independence while telling essential stories.

The future of investigative journalism in Kenya hinges on collaboration, continuous skill development and financial support to sustain the critical role of holding power accountable.

“We just need to come together as journalists, as media houses. It doesn't matter who you serve, whatever kind of stories you tell, we need to find a way of independence, whether we do that for government or not, whatever engagement we need to unshackle ourselves, at least and form some kind of independence, but also be able to tell the stories that need to be told,” she says. 

 

This story was developed thanks to a grant administered by the Kenya Editors Guild. The project received support from the Thomson Reuters Foundation as part of its global programme aiming to strengthen free, fair and informed societies. The financial assistance provided has no influence or bearing on the journalist’s editorial work. The content of this article belongs solely to the author and is not endorsed by or associated with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, Thomson Reuters, Reuters, nor any other affiliates