[kictanet] Role of the Media in Kenyan Elections

Mon Mar 11 20:43:32 EAT 2013

Someone once said, "We view things not as they are, but as we are." I
forget who. I sadly conclude that even in the most intelligent of debates,
sides will show that are not too different from the not too intelligent
debates(With all due respect to the list). If you ask me, This thing called
tribe should be embraced as a critical aspect of our identity, and
channeled as the smallest (or second smallest) political unit. .. <end of
digression>

The tech hitches on this election were indeed embarassing, but only to
those that have an unrealistic expectation of project implementation. The
kind that buys the sales pitch that nine women can give birth to a baby in
a month and start crying foul in month two. If you ask me, we did a lot of
things right, even in the deployment of the system that many have
villified. From the little feedback i have seen around, @erick hersman has
attempted to explain the genesis, and his blog presents a good start for a
forensic audit of what happened.

The RIGHT THING to do should not be throw the baby out with the bath water,
but continously improve upon it. Time and Time again I have always asked,
If we can entrust billions of Transactions via sms , what stops us from
M-Kura ? Why would we need to queue in lines if we can all vote
simultaneously from our homes on the same technology that people entrust
their life savings on? Moving forward I believe we should be talking
digital identity off-site voting.

and last but not least, The Media might help us by getting professionals to
ask the right questions, otherwise its a blanket condemnation of a system
that failed not because of inherent design flaws, but on how the Operating
system was installed and specifically how much space partitions were
allocated.

my 50 bob.

On Mon, Mar 11, 2013 at 7:07 PM, <bitange at jambo.co.ke> wrote:

> Edith,
> Answers to your questions lie in the Communications Amendment Act 2009 and
> the Media Act 2007.  The two legal instruments were meant to streamline
> the Broadcast sector in this country and enable self-regulation of Media,
> diversity of opinion and a pluralist broadcast regime.  Nowhere in these
> legislations that you find government curtailing freedom of speech.  Many
> people including David were opposed to the implementation of these laws.
> The subsidiary legislation supporting these laws were borrowed from The
> UK's communications regulator as well as from the Federal Communications
> Commission in the US word for word.
>
> The problem therefore is not the government.  The problem is US (sisi).
> Like you put it for Ghana we speak not with facts but opinion.  Rumour
> spreads faster than anything in Africa simply because we do not have the
> culture of verifying things.  There is nothing wrong in promoting peace if
> everybody seeks to understand the balance between freedom (liberty) and
> supression.  In Britain for example, News of The World was closed down by
> the government.  Was this suppression of speech?  Every British citizens
> understood that the News Corp had become irresiponsible.
>
> For sure I know the Government wants to know (and I have been asked as to
> what may have gone wrong) exactly what went wrong with the IEBC systems.
> The Ghanaian and Nigerian ones too had problems.  If you recall, the
> systems were procured at the last minute even when IEBC had expressed
> desire to go manual due to lengthy procurement processes.  The
> manufacturer hurriedly tried to meet the short deadlines.
>
> Even in this forum we are making opinions as if they are facts.  It would
> help if we have some analyst give us the facts upon which we can advance
> our opinions.  If you watched the US elections carefully, they were more
> into analytics and building trajectories that helped citizens understand.
> Take for example four constituencies say, Kilome, Rarieda, Mathioya and
> Konoin.  Knowing the trend in these constituencies, we could have very
> easily built a trajectory for all neighbouring constituencies using
> average turnout and registered voters.  This will give you better insight
> to ask intelligent questions that will make great news than the way we
> handle such issues to the extent media would think it is propaganda.
>
> My point is that we had far too much data to make great stories that do
> not point to violence or hate message.  No mews media that can dismiss a
> good argument and especially when it is different fresh and logical.  In
> essence convert data into information.
>
>
> Regards
>
>
> Ndemo.
>
>
>
>
> > 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)
> > _______________________________________________
> > kictanet mailing list
> > kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
> > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
> >
> > Unsubscribe or change your options at
> > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mai
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> kictanet mailing list
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
>
> Unsubscribe or change your options at
> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/arebacollins%40gmail.com
>
> 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,
> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>

-- 
*“The twentieth century has been characterized by three developments of
great political importance: the growth of democracy, the growth of
corporate power, and the growth of corporate propaganda as a means of
protecting corporate power against democracy”*
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/pipermail/kictanet/attachments/20130311/357c28b0/attachment.htm>