[kictanet] [mediaeditors] Role of the Media in Kenyan Elections

Mon Mar 11 19:06:15 EAT 2013

Thank you David.

Political discourse was discouraged (implicitly) in the lead up to and
during the election and the pretext of peace was used heavily to muzzle
dissenting voices. The media in the meantime did its best to avoid being
ensnared in the all-encompassing and crippling umbrella of 'hate speech' -
which meant they really couldn't talk about anything but peace. It reminded
me of a post 9/11 US where a difference of opinion (or for that matter,
drawing attention to failure) was considered un-American. 'Young and
Maturing' should never be an excuse to undermine transparency and
discourage debate. It is too easy to sacrifice so much especially after
what happened 5 years ago and it requires an inordinate amount of vigilance
to prevent an erosion of freedoms we take for granted.

On Mon, Mar 11, 2013 at 11:10 AM, Dorcas Muthoni <dmuthoni at gmail.com> wrote:

> What were people not allowed to say, can they say it now. I am lost about
> this discussion...is there information that is being withheld?
>
> On Mon, Mar 11, 2013 at 5:59 PM, william janak <williamjanak at yahoo.com>wrote:
>
>> I agree with Makali.
>>
>> Talking to folks out here gives you the impression that beneath the over
>> preached gospel of peace and the supposed sterling performance of the media
>> in promoting that peace that -most people feel their views have been
>> submerged and frustrated.
>>
>> There is a deep sense of resentment that certain key questions - the hard
>> questions that ought to be asked about the whole election process are not
>> being asked, even by the media - which has made the issue of peace such a
>> boring sing son.
>>
>> Janak.
>>
>>   ------------------------------
>> *From:* Edith Adera <eadera at idrc.ca>
>> *To:* williamjanak at yahoo.com
>> *Cc:* KICTAnet - Media Editors Forum <mediaeditors at lists.kictanet.or.ke>;
>> KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
>> *Sent:* Monday, March 11, 2013 5:25 PM
>> *Subject:* Re: [kictanet] [mediaeditors] Role of the Media in Kenyan
>> Elections
>>
>>   A+
>>
>>  *From:* David Makali [mailto:dmakali at yahoo.com]
>> *Sent:* March 11, 2013 5:18 PM
>> *To:* Edith Adera
>> *Cc:* KICTAnet - Media Editors Forum; KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
>> *Subject:* Re: [mediaeditors] [kictanet] Role of the Media in Kenyan
>> Elections
>>
>>  I disagree:
>> This boils down to the role of the media in a democratic society. Is it
>> to abet the erosion of rights or to promote transparency and the expression
>> of the popular will of the people? i see people on this forum trying to
>> tweak the responsbiility of the media to their selfish interests - peace,
>> investment and other pr concerns. those whose rights have been trampled by
>> a fraudulent election are portrayed as a distraction in the grinding mill
>> of our oh-so-good democracy and pretended peace. their protests are being
>> pooh-poohed as anti-peace. i would rather not be part of this peace and
>> tranquility bandwagon and stare the hard facts in the face. i would rather
>> opt for the painful truth and justice path. it is the route to long lasting
>> peace and democracy. it is the rationalisation of injustice and wrongdoing
>> that breeds dictatorship and oppression. we must decline the popular
>> excuses at every election that we are young and maturing, that in the
>> interest of peace, we gloss over our failures and move on. this time, let
>> us get it right. there should be no violence, but neither should threats of
>> incitement be used against those who pursue their rights or the truth.
>> the media has an obligation not just to give voice to those who are
>> aggrieved but to go out on a limb to establish the veracity of their
>> grievances. they cannot abdicate that responsibility as they have so far
>> done on the pretext of keeping the peace. a sleeping press is not good even
>> for peace. no.
>>
>>
>>
>> - makali
>>
>>
>>
>>  _______________
>>  "If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live,
>> I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster."
>> — Isaac Asimo, Columbian Author and Scientist
>> _______________
>>
>>  PO Box 3234
>> 00200 Nairobi, Kenya
>> cell: +254 722 517 540
>>    ------------------------------
>>  *From:* Edith Adera <eadera at idrc.ca>
>> *To:* dmakali at yahoo.com
>> *Cc:* KICTAnet - Media Editors Forum <mediaeditors at lists.kictanet.or.ke>;
>> KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
>> *Sent:* Monday, March 11, 2013 4:51 PM
>> *Subject:* Re: [mediaeditors] [kictanet] Role of the Media in Kenyan
>> Elections
>>
>>   Eric et al,
>>
>>  Suppressed opinions can be worse!
>>
>>  I happened to witness, first-hand, the Ghanaian campaigns and read
>> about the elections; and the comments from Kenya’s IEBC chair, who was an
>> observer, about how they were conducted, how the media gave the citizens
>> the space to air views even when things did not work including during the
>> challenging of the elections. You know and can attest to the fact that
>> Ghanaians are NOT the lot to silence (your Nigerian brothers are even more
>> vocal). Ghanaians speak their minds and air their views freely. A Ghanaian
>> once told me “when it comes to politics, every Ghanaian is a political
>> analyst; when it comes to football, every Ghanaian is a football
>> commentator”…you can’t silence them.
>>
>>  Why do you want us to be different? Don’t talk about Post-election
>> violence, as Ghana has gone through worse.
>>
>>  My point, why did we have this effect of silencing voices? What are the
>> implications of the deafening silence from the citizenry?
>>
>>  Edith
>>   *From:* Eric Osiakwan [mailto:ericosiakwan at me.com]
>> *Sent:* March 11, 2013 12:37 PM
>> *To:* Edith Adera
>> *Cc:* KICTAnet - Media Editors Forum; KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
>> *Subject:* Re: [kictanet] Role of the Media in Kenyan Elections
>>
>>   Edith hello:
>>
>>   Sometimes, it is better not to say nothing or pretend to be stupid for
>> life to go on than to speak (demand your right) and end up with "violence"
>> and life retrogresses - just saying.....
>>
>>   I think you Kenyans should really commend yourselves, you have raised
>> the bar on electoral conduct and peaceful outcomes no matter how long it
>> takes -- the level of maturity exhibited by the average Wananchi is
>> awesome. I saw first hand the level of investment that went into this
>> election by government, media, parties etc and by all means those
>> investments must pay off -- democracy is an expensive enterprise.
>>
>>   Something just hit me, Nigeria elected a 55year old President and
>> Ghana followed suit by electing a 54year old and now you Kenyans have
>> elected a 51year old -- the youngest President if am not wrong (i stand
>> corrected) and i have noting against the older folks but i think this is
>> significant....
>>
>>   Edith, in other words what am saying is, dont beat yourself too hard,
>> Nigeria invested in a voters register that did not turn out well but their
>> elections was scored above board, Ghana invested in biometrics for our last
>> elections and it did not work out well but we scored above board and Kenya
>> has done same, raising the bar. Offcourse we need to do introspection and
>> better the processes and systems for the future, starting now.
>>
>>   For now, am just excited for Africa, we would fix this continent of
>> ours and make it the best place for generations to come #AfricaIsInMotion.
>>
>>   Good day and great week, ya all.
>>
>>   Eric here
>>
>>
>>
>>   On 11 Mar 2013, at 08:34, Edith Adera <eadera at idrc.ca> wrote:
>>
>>   Listers,
>>
>>   For the 2007 elections, Bwana Ndemo is on record here (KICTANET)
>> condemning the role of the media in fueling the violence.
>>
>>   In 2013, the media played a different role. If you now reflect back –
>> deep and hard – it occurred to me that  the over-rated, over-hyped,
>> over-done "call for peace" was actually a "tool of oppression"!!
>>
>>   Why do I say this? Many a Kenyans found themselves speechless and
>> voiceless….you were not given a chance to speak your mind, to question, to
>> freely air your opinions or liberally reflect on the going ons.  You were
>> promptly slapped with the "peace call” which immediately silenced you! Why
>> should I feel silenced by “a call for peace”? Our national anthem talks of
>> “peace and liberty”, what happened to “liberty” during this period?
>>
>>   Most Kenyans locked themselves in their houses, scared stiff of the
>> unknown. Reflecting back it was truly a "silence tool".
>>
>>   In my view, what is going on in Kenya is God’s birth of a NEW KENYA.
>> It is NOT (and I repeat NOT) about THE WINNER or THE LOSERS (Do NOT get me
>> wrong – I don’t mind about that). It is about laying a NEW FOUNDATION for
>> Kenya that is built on TRUTH (RIGHTEOUSNESS) and JUSTICE, especially during
>> this Jubilee period (50 years of our existence as a nation as we enter into
>> the next 50 years – the next Jubilee).
>>
>>   From now on, and as our national anthem aptly states, JUSTICE will
>> truly be our SHIELD and DEFENDER.
>>
>>   Sustainable peace (not FALSE PEACE) is built on the foundations of
>> TRUTH (righteousness) and JUSTICE.
>>
>>   Reflective Edith
>>   * *
>>   *Quote: I should like to be able to love my country and still love
>> justice (Albert Camus)*
>>   _______________________________________________
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>>       Eric M.K Osiakwan
>>   +233244386792
>>
>>
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>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>
>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
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>
>
>
> --
> Muthoni
>
> My Blog: http://rugongo.blogspot.com/
> --------------------------------------------
> Mahatma Gandhi once said:-
>
> First they ignore you,
> Then they laugh at you,
> Then they fight you,
> AND THEN YOU WIN!!!
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> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>
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