Highway Africa News Agency (Grahamstown)
Zachary Ochieng
21 August 2007
Nairobi — Hardly before the dust settles on the controversial Media Bill of 2007, the media fraternity has discovered yet another equally controversial and even more sinister and draconian piece of legislation, which is in the process of being promulgated.
But like the Media Bill 2007, media owners and practitioners have vowed not to take the Kenya Communications Amendment Bill 2007, also known as the ICT Bill, lying down.
Hannington Gaya, the chairman of the Media Owners Association (MOA), blew the whistle on the Bill, saying it was more draconian than the Media Bill 2007.
Whereas the Media Bill of 2007 wants editors forced to reveal their sources if the subject of a news report goes to court, the ICT Billon the other hand seeks to control the content of broadcasters, prohibits cross media ownership and allows the Internal Security minister to raid broadcasting houses and seize equipment.
"If passed into law, the repercussions of this Bill, which mainly targets broadcasters, would even be more dangerous than the Media Bill", observed Gaya.
The main bone of contention in the Bill, however, is the prohibition of cross media ownership.
Analysts see this Bill as an attempt to shut out the Nation Media Group and the Standard Group, both of which publish newspapers and own Television Stations.
The Nation Media Group also owns a radio station.
"In this era of media convergence, how does the government talk of banning cross media ownership??, posed Gaya. ?We wonder why the government wants to curtail the media, especially now that we are heading for elections", added Gaya.
The Bill has already gone through the First Reading in parliament. Last week, however, it failed to go through the Second Reading due to lack of quorum.
Media consultant and opposition politician Tony Gachoka claimed that the Bill was meant to justify acts like last year?s raid on the Standard Group. "This Bill is illegal, immoral and unconstitutional. Through this Bill, the Information and Communications minister Mutahi Kagwe and his Internal Security counterpart John Michuki, are working together to frustrate the freedom of press", claimed Gachoka. Incidentally, Kagwe is the son-in-law of Michuki.
It may be recalled that in March 2006, Michuki ordered a police raid on the Standard group of companies, resulting into a loss of millions of shillings. In an unprecedented draconian assault on the media, about 30 heavily armed and hooded police from the elite Kanga squad, ostensibly formed to fight armed and dangerous criminals, descended on the Standard group?s offices at midnight, beating up employees, breaking doors, stealing employees' mobile phones, yanking off CCTV cameras and carting away 20 computers. They later disabled KTN TV, keeping the channel off air for about 13 hours.
The commando squad then later proceeded to the Standard printing press, shot the gates open, disabled the plant and set on fire thousands of copies of the day's edition that were just rolling off the press. Similar raids were carried on the press during the single party dictatorship in the 1980s and early 1990s.
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