The People ­ Friday
Date: 25.10.2013
Page 7
Article size: 523 cm2
ColumnCM: 116.22
AVE: 146672.44
IG Kimaiyo's
media threat
sparks ange
By FRED MWANGI
THREATS by Inspector General of Po­ to ignore the summonses by saying the alternative answers, whether right or
wrong" added Mutua
lice David Kimaiyo, to arrest Standard law allows media freedom.
He said ISK believes that instead
"We challenge the Inspector General
Media Group journalists over the
coverage of Westgate Shopping Mall of Police to prove his allegations of in­ of issuing threats, security officers
terror attack, was yesterday roundly citement and clarify why his officers should resign and an independent
condemned by various stakeholders. are harassing journalists in the course commission formed to probe the
But late last evening the police of their duty," said Gaitho.
Westgate scandal'.
withdrew the summonses as the heat
"We remind the police that it is the
The President of East Africa Law
continued to mount over the affront to cardinal duty of media to access infor­
Society James Mwamu, said the Me­
"media freedom'.
mation and share it with the public. dia Council of Kenya is the only one
Reacting to Kimaiyo threats, the Edi­ This is a duty the media has carried charged with regulating the media
tors Guild advised targetted joumaiits out professionally, with integrity and a adding that the IG of overstepping
sense of responsibility," he said.
to ignore them.
his mandate
The ODM party, Kenya Union of
Journalism, law Society of Kenya and Muzzle media
Media operations
East Africa Law Society described Ki­ KUJ Secretary General Jared Obuya He called on the Members of the
maiyo's summonses a setback to me­ said the action to summon Ali and National Assembly to amend the
dia freedom.
Namu was a direct and calculated contentious clauses which could
They dismissed police claims I he
media exposure of what went wrong at
Westgate threatened national security,
as propaganda aimed at gagging media
move to muzzle the media in Kenya, hugely impact on media operations
freedom.
Kimaiyo had summoned Standard
Group's boss Sam Shollei, with lohn
Allan Namu and Mohammed Ali over
the Westgate CCTV footage on KTN.
Kilimani Department of Criminal
Investigations boss George Ojuka had
confirmed that Shollei Ali and Namu,
had been summoned formally, to re­
cord statements on Monday.
"We are investigating various issues
in the story aired at the station. There
are about three sections which were
grossly misinforming and inciting"
said Ojuka.
ODM executive director Magerer
1­angat said journalists should work
freely, without intimidation.
"We stand with the media and con­
demn Kimaiyo approach. He should
address media issues to the Media
Council," said Magarer.
Editors Guild chairman Macharia
Gaitho had asked the two journalists
adding, that such an arrest could spark
alarm, not only among journalists but
Kenyans because what Kenya media
reported was also captured by interna­
tional journalists.
"Kimaiyo should know the reason
these reports are being aired is because
of the misleading and contradictory
information issued by government of­
ficials from the very first day," he said.
in the country.
Mwamu said stakeholders' view
on the Media Council of Kenya Bill
2013 and the Kenya Information
and Communications Act amend­
ment (KICA) Bill 2013 should be
brought on board.
Media players have in the bast ex­
pressed fear the government w ill con­
He said an individual's and the me­ trol and regulate broadcast c anient,
dia expression, are enshrined in the and, therefore decide when tq switch
constitution, saying the government off TV and radio stations.
Section 6£ of the KICA Bill 2013,
was dragging its feet on the enactment
seeks to establish a Broad lasting
of Freedom of Information bill.
"The Inspector General of Police Standards Committee, responsible
seems to be the only stranger in Jeru­ foe developing broadcasting :ontent
salem because everybody knows the standards, regulating and monitoring
Westgate operation was bungled and compliance to those standards
'they fear that this mandate i 5 loose­
the chain of command issued con­
flicting statements during the security ly drafted and could give ro am for
operation," said Eric Mutua, chairman the Communication Commission of
Kenya (CCK) to contest widi uV Media
Law Society of Kenya.
"When persons charged with such Council of Kenya the sole mar date of
responsibtl ities far I to sh ow I eadersh ip regulating professional standards and
and to provide answers, the media and ethical content.
the public will fill die gap by providing
Ipsos Synovate Kenya ­ Acorn House,97 James Gichuru Road ­ Lavington ­ Nairobi ­ Kenya
The People ­ Friday
Date: 25.10.2013
Page 7
Article size: 523 cm2
ColumnCM: 116.22
AVE: 146672.44
Ipsos Synovate Kenya ­ Acorn House,97 James Gichuru Road ­ Lavington ­ Nairobi ­ Kenya