Magesha Ngwiri
13 May 2001
opinion
Veteran journalist Herman Igambi could not be more correct. Local journalists have made the name "Kenya" sound like mud in the ears of the rest of the world. But he is wrong in not recognising that the rogues he is talking about have been surpassed only by the politicians and the economic managers, who are usually one and the same individuals.
In a letter published in our yesterday's edition, Mr Igambi, who has for a long time been a top manager in the broadcast media, had pretty scathing things to say about journalists. (I am assuming he was talking about the print media, for people in Europe and America do not watch or listen to KBC, KTN or the now disabled Citizen Television).
The general thrust of his argument was that we, journalists, are responsible for giving Kenya a bad name and that we should scale down our criticism and try highlighting our positive achievements as a nation.
There is a case for admitting guilt here. But we also detect a hint of insincerity on his part. In fact, the whole business is an uncanny echo of the nonsense we have heard from politicians for the past 37 years.
But even after I admit guilt as charged, there are always mitigating circumstances which I want to look at in two parts: The role of the journalist and othres' contribution to the murky situation we find ourselves in.
I'll elaborate. The first question is: What is so good about Kenya to write home about? The second is: Are journalists supposed to be praise-singers or baby-sitters for blundering politicians who bubble daily with witless enthusiasm about their shortcomings?
Let us start with the last one. The short, vehement answer is a resounding NO! We are not launderers of any description. We are professionals whose job is to disseminate news and information. We report what is said and done by newsmakers, be they politicians, captains of industry, sportsmen and women or serial murderers.
We report what goes on in the courtrooms and in political rallies. When thousands are starving in Turkana or have been displaced by floods in the Kano Plains, we report it. When politicians are making policy and when atavistic tribal warriors are wreaking havoc on their fellow countrymen, we record it. We do not make news except when the police clobber us.
There is also the other class of journalists, mostly desk-bound, who interpret the news through a process of synthesis, analysis and commentary. These are the most derided, for they sometimes stumble on the truth. But they are not as feared as investigative reporters.
Though our standard of investigative reporting is not as developed as it should be, its practitioners are the ones who send shivers down the spines of wrongdoers, especially those in positions of power and influence. They are the bogeymen of those who smile benignly by day and plot incessantly by night what to loot and whom to undermine.
Is Mr Igambi, by any chance, suggesting that such diligent seekers after truth should report only what the looters say and contribute during hyped-up harambees, but not how they acquired the millions of shillings they donate?
Is he, probably, suggesting that reporters file copy on the Government's efforts at feeding the starving, but say nothing about the failed food policy that brought about this starvation?
Which brings me to the second point. What have Kenyans done which merits a standing ovation? Let us just look at our situation today.
Ten years down the line, we have not yet come around to start reforming our Constitution, which everyone agrees is not only outdated but generally anomalous in a pluralistic situation. We bicker and waffle, mumble and dissemble on the most fundamental issues to do with our welfare as a nation, just before we place every sort of hurdle on the way forward.
As for our miserable economy, everyone seems to be at his or her wits' end what to do about it. We grumble endlessly about the conditions insisted on by international lenders for aid, which we sorely need. Yet we do not seem to have the guts to either swallow our pride and fulfil them or to tell these foreigners to fork off.
We plot to destroy one-tenth of our forest cover and then jail those who protest. We claim ours is not a police state, yet the most overworked people in the force are the anti-riot unit used to keep dissenters in line. We want the world to recognise us as a modern democracy, yet the most basic democratic practices are anathema to us. We incarcerate those who utter the most outrageous and dangerous nonsense, but only if they do not belong to the ruling party.
We assure everyone how committed we are to stamping out corruption, and yet those who shout the loudest are the most corrupt. What would Mr Igambi have us, fellow journalists, do? Bury our heads in the sand like ostriches? Even if we did, the rest of the world would continue to watch with powerful lenses. Ours is a global village, in Nairobi headquartered at Chester House, Mr Igambi.
While are on the subject, newspaper editors are in the habit of ignoring the big news, going for incomprehensible stuff, and then expecting the people who matter to flock to the newsstands.
The other day, an American transnational announced it was slashing the prices of disposable diapers (baby nappies, for those not attuned to Americanese) by a whopping 30 per cent. A 10-pack, they said, would now sell for only Sh270, while a 36-pack would go for Sh700. Use and dump, they implied, in the best Kenyan way.
Not one editor thought to splash this important information on Page 1. They just failed, didn't they, to visualise the huge market for their papers among the thousands of all the country's expectant mothers or the huge smiles on the faces of all the country's nannies (ayahs, house-maids, house-helps, whatever) as they rushed to the news-vendors to buy papers and read the great news.
No more of those stinking chores they dread every morning. No more of those yellowing towels that leave no room for anything else on the clothes-lines. No more . . . . Oh, what's the use? Most editors finished with that business ages ago!
magesha@nation.co.ke
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2001 The Nation. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
