International: Freedom of Expression in Kenya and Africa

Wilson Ugangu is with the African Woman and Child Feature Service (AWC), a non governmental media organization that works on media development, gender and issues in Eastern and Southern Africa. He recently helped establish a media diversity center at AWC to develop the media profession in Kenya. He also teaches development communication practice at the University of Nairobi, School of Journalism and Mass Communication. He is currently working on a PhD degree with the University of South Africa. He is currently serving a fellowship at Consumers Union’s Washington office.

www.hearusnow.org recently asked him some questions about the state of journalism, media ownership and freedom of expression in Africa.

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HearUsNow: How is the media structured in Kenya – state owned, private, a combination?

Ugangu: Fifteen years ago a wave of change swept through much of Africa. This wave brought with it two fundamental changes – competitive multiparty politics and liberalization of the media playing field. This change saw the entry of a number of players in the media field. Private commercial media stations were set up to address the various demands and needs of a diverse audience and market. In recent years, radio has been the most prolific, with several FM stations coming up.

The print media is dominated by two major companies; The East African Standard Media Group and the Nation Media Group. Apart from running the two most successful newspapers in East and Central Africa, the two media institutions also own TV and radio stations. The Nation Media Group has also set up shop in Tanzania and Uganda, where they run daily newspapers, radio, and TV stations.

Government control of the media has been minimal, particularly in the period after 2002. Several pieces of legislation seeking to control or regulate the media in Kenya have been introduced in the House at different times, but they were never successful. The latest proposal sought to compel journalists to reveal their sources of information, particularly in instances where their stories were subject to a defamation case in court. This was opposed by the media fraternity as well as a host of sympathizers from civil society and the general public and failed to gain approval.

HearUsNow: Is the government able to censor the media?

Ugangu: This has not been very overt in the period after 2002. If there is anything that President Kibaki is credited for, it’s the expansion of the vital space for media activity in Kenya. The dictatorial regime of President Moi, who ruled the country with an iron fist for 24 years, had killed press freedom through unwarranted censorship of the media. For instance, it was a treasonable offense to cartoon the president. Any journalist who speculated on political developments in the country without the permission of people close to the president ended up dead or in jail.

HearUsNow: How does freedom of expression in Kenya compare to neighboring countries in Africa and the United States?

Ugangu: Certainly the state of freedom of expression in Kenya has improved a lot over the last five or so years. There is even a proposal in the form of a bill before parliament for a freedom of information act – a clear pointer to the changing scenario. Now it is easier to criticize the government or even the president and not have the feeling that one is committing an unforgivable act.

In comparison to the region, I think Kenya has made more progressive steps in institutionalizing the culture of a free society where public debate around important national issues is impressed as an important facet of national life. Uganda has had some problems in recent times with some journalists critical of President Museveni’s extended stay in power getting in trouble with state security agents. The leading and most popular newspaper in Uganda is state-owned. Tanzania is a rather quieter scene, partly because the media field is not as developed and diverse as it is in Kenya and Uganda.

Certainly the United States is far ahead of countries in Eastern Africa. However, developments after 9/11 have impacted freedom of expression in an interesting way in the United States. The new legislation which allows government agents to listen into peoples conversations on phone and email is a dangerous development for democracy and freedom of expression.

HearUsNow: Are there any new or pending laws or regulations that would improve/worsen freedom of expression in Kenya?

Ugangu: A communications bill which seeks to check against media cross ownership among other concerns is the latest proposal before the house. Another recent proposal which sought to establish a powerful media council that would see the media self regulate is in the final phase. This bill had also proposed that journalists be compelled to reveal sources for their stories. This clause has however been struck out after the intense lobbying and protests from the public.

HearUsNow: What was the biggest story in Kenya in the last year? How was it covered?

Ugangu: This year has not been really eventful in Kenya other than the usual floods in Budalangi (Western part of Kenya) during the rainy May to August period. It’s a cycle of catastrophe that tends to happen every year. Hundreds of families are left homeless, several people drown in the raging waters of the River Yala – mostly women and children. Politics, however, always is unfortunately the big story. Rumors have circulated about the president’s health and family – whether he has a second wife or not, whether he would go for a second term, if so on which party would he run as he seemed party-less after the big fallout in his party which led to the renegades forming the Orange Democratic Movement, which too has since mutated and led to the establishment of two orange parties– the Orange Democratic Party of Kenya( ODM–K) and the original Orange Democratic Movement( ODM) The dilemma is that both parties are registered under the same symbol – an orange. One wonders how Kenyans are going to tell the difference between the two oranges when they vote in the year’s general election scheduled for December.

The nature of journalism in Kenya is that on most of the sensitive political issues, journalists tend to choose sides, mainly driven by ethnic or tribal considerations. Politicians exploit such moments to whip up tribal or ethnic support for their positions. The result as was the case during the referendum vote on a proposed new constitution in 2005 is heightened feelings of tribal nationalism, which on the flip side involve stereotypes against the other tribe and/or the bad things that the other tribe is doing to my tribe and who has access to the national cake etc.

HearUsNow: Are there any countries you particularly admire in terms of freedom of expression? Are there other countries you think are particularly bad when it comes to freedom of expression?

Ugangu: In the region, I do admire South Africa and the steps the country has made since the early 1990s when apartheid was ended. The society is more open and the once marginalized voices of the majority African population are now heard. There are also countries which are doing badly, like Rwanda and Burundi. I visited Rwanda and in June 2006 and got the impression that President Kagame rules with an iron fist. The media is completely state- owned. The fledgling private weeklies are barely surviving. Those that stand out are mainly done by NGOs and they do not exceed three for the whole country. Advance raw drafts of private weekly publications have to undergo thorough review by government operatives before going to print.

Journalists are harassed and beaten up in Rwanda, particularly when they touch on sensitive issues. On the whole, though Rwanda has made tremendous steps in building sustainable peace after the 1994 genocide, a lot still needs to be done to empower people to criticize government as well as getting the opportunity to make their point on important national issues.

HearUsNow: What is the toughest story you or your organization has ever had to report? Why was it so tough?

Ugangu: I did a story on a recent visit to Argentina where I represented my organization at the freedom of expression meeting sponsored by the Ford Foundation. This was one story I found rather challenging to do. On the afternoon of the final day of our meeting, I decided to take a stroll to get a feel of the city of Buenos Aires. In my company was someone from the hosting organization who had kindly offered to take me around that afternoon. When we ventured into the Plaza De Mayo (May Square) in downtown Buenos Aires, I spotted this huge group of elderly women marching around a statue at the center of the square. They were old and wrinkled, but there was a certain determination in their step.

When I asked my guide who they were, she started giving me a long history of the years of repression that Argentina suffered starting in the mid 1970s. Many people lost their lives, corruption in government was entrenched and gradually Argentina became the most unequal society in Latin America. The old women, she said, had been marching at this square every single Thursday – whether rain or sunshine for the last 30 years in memory of those they lost during this terrible period. They represent a historical memory that is at the very heart of our identity as a country, she added.

I saw a good story here, but I had to find an angle that would be appreciated by editors back home. I quickly thought through my own country’s history of political repression and the recent appeals for a truth and reconciliation commission. There I found an angle.

I quickly did interviews with these women with my guide usefully interpreting into English, got pictures and quickly ran back to the conference venue to get some of the voices there from Argentina to add their reflections on the comments so far from the old women. On getting back to Nairobi, I wrote the story and send it to the East Standard who quickly liked it and gave it a center spread. It was a great story that linked a reality from a far away country to our own circumstances back in Kenya.