Media freedom in Kenya: The parliamentary circus
With journalists and protestors in Kenya facing brutal arrests as they challenge governmental efforts to curb media freedom, Cenya Ciyendi laments the repression of groups merely demonstrating for the right to freedom of expression. At a time when the world celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the author condemns the persistence of political self-service and the use of draconian, quasi-colonial measures to quash peaceful protest.
According to Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
‘Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.’
It is shameful that during the period of marking the sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10 December and the 45th anniversary of Kenya's freedom on 12 December that the Kenyan police, in the full glare of the government, the international community and Wananchi saw the brutal arrest of and torture of Kenyan journalists protesting against draconian measures to curb media freedom.
The erosion of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration – the principal statement on media freedom around the world – marks a sad day for Kenya and a return to the pre-2002 days of impunity for the Kenyan regime. When Kenyans should have joined the world in celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration and the principles that brought the country’s freedom, the government was busy dismantling these gains in parliament while brutally and publicly attacking Kenyans during Jamuhuri day and making a mockery of the celebrations! No shame then and no remorse now in the greatest twist in history. The further brutalisation of those protesting peacefully marks a return to draconian measures and towards dictatorship and is reminiscent of the colonial and Nyayo eras when they were perfected. Curbing of freedoms of conscience, freedoms of expression and freedom to hold opinions is the first sign of desperation of a government which has wrong-footed its people. It was notable that the celebrations were marked in the stadium and not in the traditional Uhuru Park. Here, there exist fences and we now know that there are police cells as this is where some of the protestors are being held under inhumane conditions and tortured.
The pressures on Kenya now to implement the Kriegler and Waki reports to resolve the issues that brought the country on its knees, and the heat it will place on individuals, is all the more reason why the media should be protected. The constitutional process, the setting up of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and charting the road map to 2012 are all the more reasons that the media needs to be more active than ever, not less!
Kenyans are justifiably angered by the actions of the government and the mixed message they are sending; that parliament cannot be trusted to protect the people. The world and the Kenyan public cannot allow the prevailing climate of impunity to continue. Nor can the same politicians who are seeking to curb the power of the president leave such an important decision to such power when they had the mandate to vote for the principals of Article 19 and then rush to court to sue themselves (we are now a grand coalition). It makes nonsense of their demand to curb the power of the presidency when they cannot be trusted to make the right decision or to act in the interest of the Wananchi. The recent fiasco of politicians’ self-interest in refusing to pay tax and to address the plight of millions of Kenyans facing starvation – especially internally displaced people (IDPs) who are still suffering after the crisis earlier in the year – while they live in unimaginable luxury is contemptible.
In 2005, Kenya held the International Peace Institute Conference and publicly re-dedicated itself to protecting the freedom of the press in Kenya (see here. Some of the notable speakers included the then President Kibaki, the then opposition leader Uhuru Kenyatta, and the then vice President Moody Awori. Each of the speakers said the right words in relation to how Article 19 was being promoted and how much the press freedom needed safeguarding, but they should more appropriately have been asked about how safe Kenyans and Article 19 were in their hands. They should also have answered questions around how successful the media would be in enhancing the very environment of freedom that was purportedly being celebrated. How far can they say that they protect the media and individuals who dedicate their lives in difficult conditions through which not only information is shared, but through whom a democratic engagement in debate and education is nurtured? What has changed between 2005 and now that should make it possible for this bill to have been reintroduced and voted for in parliament? And why were journalists and their supporters treated so shamefully?
We need to ask whether the politicians and government of a nation which is signatory to the Universal Declaration is upholding the spirit and letter of Article 19? It is not a weapon or shield for them to use against the citizen who elected them. The bill is wrong, and the actions of the police and the decision of the government are wrong.
There is no place for such a selfish, greedy and self-serving government. Those who are failing Kenyans should go and a transitional arrangement for democracy be put into place. It is not too late to redeem the spirit of independence for which so many died so that Kenyans can be free. Stepping down the best gift that they could give Kenya as we begin to painfully reflect on the tragedy that took place in our country barely 12 months ago and acknowledge that we have been had, yet again. They have turned parliament into a circus, if not a zoo.
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