Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Nairobi (Agenzia Fides) – Lively protests are being carried out in Kenya, following the approval of a new information law that establishes tighter regulations on freedom of the press. Some fifty journalists and members of civil society were arrested in recent days, after protesting against the law.
“The new legislative text has been approved with ample consensus in Parliament. It only awaits signing from President Kibaki, in order to be officially established,” Fides was told by a local Church source in Nairobi. “The part that most surprises Kenyans is the fact that some of the members of the former opposition, the “orangemen” of Prime Minister Raila Odinga, have voted in favor of the law, and others did not show up for the voting, thus contributing to its approval.”
“The almost unison vote of the members of Parliament is explained by the local newspapers as the result of the fact that in recent months, the Kenyan press has placed the serious cases of political corruption out in the open and have criticized the financial and other benefits received by members of Parliament. The new law is thus considered by journalists as an attempt to silence them. Following the wave of protests all over the country, several members of Parliament who had voted in favor of the law have now asked the President not to sign it.”
The journalists are not the only protesters of the new law. Various religious leaders and members of civil society are also speaking out. On December 14, during a Mass in Kisii Stadium, attended by President Kibaki, Cardinal John Njue (Archbishop of Nairobi), affirmed that it is wrong to introduce a law that can silence the media. At the same time, however, the Cardinal also reminded those who work in the media of their responsibility.
The new law says that in the case of an emergency, the Internal Security Minister can sensor the journalists, call for a change in editing, and confiscate the materials used in transmitting the news. The law also calls for a wide spectrum of powers for the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), a government-appointed organizations, to determine the contents of the programs aired.
“These powers would only be used in case of emergency, however the fear is that once they are introduced, their application will become a norm...progressively infringing on the freedom of the press. The country is in need of an information that is as free and independent as possible, that can contribute to the establishment of a more harmonious society,” our source said. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 16/12/2008)
