Kenyan Bloggers and Election Coverage 2013: Media Council Training

Kenyan Bloggers and Election Coverage 2012-13

Last week I had an opportunity to attend an online Journalists and Blogger Training on Elections Coverage and Hate Speech organized by the MediaCouncil of Kenya(MCK) and the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) at KCB Conference facility in Karen.

The training brought together a number of media practitioners from many of the local media fraternity and a number of bloggers (from BAKE) and online journalists with intent to educate and  promote adherence to professional journalistic ethics ,code of conduct and the Media Council of Kenya Guidelines for Election Coverage that were adopted by various stakeholders in the industry.

The inclusion of new media practitioners to wit bloggers and online journalists was a ready welcome and a departure from the traditional practice of ignoring and or assuming the role of blogs and other new media platforms that are increasingly shaping societal perceptions in this increasingly digital society.

Amongst the highlights on various themes and subjects that were delved on and that may be a subject of interests to many Kenyan bloggers included:

1.    An Introduction to the Media Council it role, ethics, accreditation process, mandate & recent successes. This was developed by the Councils programmes Manager Victor Bwire who clearly articulated the concerns mostly of traditional journalists whom the vast majority operate in lackluster environment and clearly need the intervention of the Council to be able to continue to effectively fulfill l their roles.

2.    Commissioner Milly Lwanga of the NCIC thereafter proceeded to highlight features of the National Cohesion and Integration Act of 2008, the mandate of the Commission and salient provisions in the Act. She also focused on online Media and National Cohesion

Media Council of Kenya Chairman Levi Obonyo on New Media

3.    Churchill Otieno of Nation Media Group focused on Media Convergence and adherence to the Journalistic Principles .He emphasized on the need to adhere to same standards of this across all platforms. For bloggers a pointer I found useful and would like to share is the need for cultural competency i.e. understand the social and cultural make up/background before you post .In many instances many bloggers put up material with little or no regard to the perception of their target audience. It is this unhealthy practice that partly contributed to the chaos that was witnessed during the last general elections. For Traditional Journalist a burning question was left, Is Journalism the possession of a skill set or is it values? I believe this is a ready and ripe question that must also be addressed by new media practitioners/citizen journalists.

4.    A Highlight of the Conference was a presentation by Mr. Jackson Cheboi of the NCIC Legal Department and Mr. Stanley Cheruiyot of the Criminal Investigations Department on Freedom of Expression Versus Hate Speech. This was a simply moving and insightful session. The Kenyan Constitution guarantees greater freedoms and human rights enjoyment than many other constitutions in the world however these rights come with responsibilities that encompass our lives both online and offline. Bloggers and other tweeps who abuse the online freedom best be warned. The Kenyan Government knows who you are, where you are from and what your activities are…so better be careful. They are tech savvy ,have the apparatus and are constantly monitoring the digital space for those who believe that they are invincible online, best be warned .It was also somehow assuring to note that some of the people who have been arrested for breaching the Communications Act were actually issued with several warnings to desist before action was taken. It would be fool hardy to think that any Government in this present day and age does not monitor what its Citizens do online…the SOPA  act in the USA testifies to this. However a field that readily needs to develop is the curtailing of the use of surveillance to silence or interfere with the right to a measure of privacy and freedom of expression especially in despotic regimes or by persons of similar leanings.

5.    Professor Levi Obonyo the Chairman of Media Council of Kenya shared his steady grasp on Citizen Journalism, evolving issues and how to verify information provided by online sources. The Need to attribute sources, verify the veracity and truthfulness of the source was discussed at length.

Joe Kadhi's Discourse

6.    Finally, a highlight and exponentially educative session was by veteran journalist and USIU Lecturer Joe Kadhi who tried to capture the spirit, meaning, intent and purposes of adhering to the Journalistic Code of Conduct when  breaking News Online. Whereas it’s impossible and possibly boring to regurgitate all that he said , interesting tips he gave are:

I.     Sources: Always identify your sources, a story is as good as its source, a vague source begets a vague story

II.    Make sure your posts are accurate, publish nothing negative without first giving the person the right of reply and make sure you publish the reply.

III.   Watch out on your personal activity, for traditional journalists these impacts on the media house they are publish on.

IV.  With Respect to Tweets and other online platforms clear the same as soon as they are received. In essence content curate…(just a side note all the media houses seem to have negated on this just look at the hateful comments that fly left right center after every political piece on the websites)remember you are responsible for all content on your page including comments

V.    Acceptance of Gifts and Junkets from particular political actors obscures objectivity.

VI.  The 5W’s and H of a story: What, Who, When, Where, Why and How?

After the training participants were enlightened as the brief synopsis herein has highlighted. The pictures testify that delving on such issues will greatly enhance the greater use of the digital space in a responsible, peaceable and fulfilling way.

Inside Story Premiere : A Kenyan Movie on HIV/Aids

 On Thursday 25th October, 2012 Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership’s  premiere'd the Inside Story Movie at  the Kenya Film Festival.The full feature-length film, Inside Story, brings together an all-star, pan-African cast in a compelling story of football, young love, and a twist of science has a two-fold mission: entertaining audiences while also educating them about HIV/AIDS.

Directed by RolieNikiwe (TshaTsha, The Lab, Intersexions) and filmed in Kenya and South Africa, Inside Storystars Kevin Ndege Mamboleo (Changing Times) as Kalu, a gifted footballer who moves from rural Kenya to urban Johannesburg to follow his dream and support his family. His path becomes more challenging when he falls in love with the coach’s daughter, Ify (Kendra Etufunwa), and subsequently finds out he is HIV-positive. Mamboleo and Etufunwa (Jacob’s Cross) are joined by international stars including Hakeem Kae-Kazim (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Hotel Rwanda, 24) as Kalu’s mentor and tough-as-nails coach, FanaMokoena (Blood Diamond, Hotel Rwanda) as the ruthless team owner, and Regina-Re as Kalu’s mother, Miriam.

Produced by Curious Pictures South Africa (now Quizzical Pictures) with the support of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Chevron, Discovery Communications, Access Bank, the South African Department of Trade and Industry,SEACOM and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Inside Story reaches across class and educational boundaries through a compelling story of sports, love and ill fates. The film, which has been selected for 12 international film festivals to date, won Special Jury Recognition at the 2012 Pan African Film Festival and was honored with the Zuku Award for Best African Film at the 2012 Zanzibar International Film Festival.

Inside Story will be available to audiences across sub-Saharan Africa later this year and early 2013 through theatrical, broadcast, online and grassroots platforms. 

This movie is bound to be a thriller and to inspire conversations especially among the teenage and young adult population in Kenya who are at high risk of contracting the disease due to to a notable trend and  heightened risk of engaging in casual sex. Its definitely a must watch movie for everyone who cares not only about their own lives but also of the larger community. If you watch it , please share your thoughts on as many platforms and social forums as you may be able to .

Website: insidestorythemovie.org

Facebook:facebook.com/insidestory

Twitter: @ThePowerofTV and #InsideStory

The Mo-Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG)

2012 Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) confirms overall positive trends in governance on the continent, but reveals unfavourable shifts in some of Africa’s regional powerhouses


15 October,2012-The sixth Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG), published today, reveals that governance in Africa has improved since 2000. In the last 12 years, at the continental level, there have been improvements in 11 out the 14 sub-categories of the IIAG. The largest improvements are shown in the sub-categories of Health, Rural Sector, and Gender, with all indicators showing improvements since 2000. At indicator level, of the 88 indicators included in the IIAG, the largest improvements appear in Cross-Border Tensions, Core International Human Rights Conventions, Legislation on Violence against Women, Ratio of External Debt Service to Exports, Digital Connectivity and Anti-Retroviral Treatment Provision.

Unfavourable shifts in in Africa’s regional powerhouses:

However, while governance continues to improve in many countries, some of Africa’s regional powerhouses – Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa – have shown unfavourable governance performance since 2006. Over the past six years, all four countries have declined in two of the four main IIAG categories – Safety & Rule of Law and Participation & Human Rights. Each of these four countries deteriorated the most in the Participation sub-category, which assesses the extent to which citizens have the freedom to participate in the political process. South Africa and Kenya have also registered declines in Sustainable Economic Opportunity. And Nigeria, West Africa’s powerhouse, has for the first time this year fallen into the bottom ten governance performers on the continent.

Abdoulie Janneh, former Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa and Board Member of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation said: “Given the vast natural and human resources of these four regional powers, these governance results are a concern. Each of these countries plays a key role in the economic and political landscape of the continent. To continue to optimally play this role requires a sustained commitment to balanced and equitable governance.”

Mixed regional trends:

While West, Central and Southern Africa are slowly improving their overall governance scores, both North Africa and East Africa have registered declines. East Africa has now been overtaken by West Africa in the category of Sustainable Economic Opportunity. Two of the anchor countries of East Africa – Kenya and Uganda – have demonstrated deteriorations in Sustainable Economic Opportunity, dragging down the regional trends.

The importance of ‘balance’:

Overall, since 2006, the strongest continental performances are registered in the categories of Sustainable Economic Opportunity and Human Development, where there have been improvements in all sub-categories. Meanwhile, the categories of Safety & Rule of Law and Participation & Human Rights have registered declines, mainly due to regressions in three sub-categories: Rule of Law, Personal Safety and Rights.

This imbalance of governance performance between the four main categories of the IIAG was highlighted in the previous two editions of the IIAG, when Egypt, Libya and Tunisia stood out as cases in point. This characteristic, which appears across the continent, remains a concern.

Over the last six years, almost half (21) of the 52 African countries register increased imbalance between the four categories. The 2012 IIAG shows that five of the six most imbalanced countries belong to North Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. Not only does North Africa remain the most imbalanced region in Africa, it has also experienced the greatest regional governance deterioration since 2006. Contrary to the other four regions, North Africa is the only one that has deteriorated in the sub-categories of National Security, Public Management and Infrastructure.

Mo Ibrahim, Chair of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation said: “It is encouraging to note that the Millennium Development Goals have contributed to the improvement of all 52 countries in the Human Development category since 2000. But the post-MDG framework now has the potential to make similar improvements across the full package of goods and services that all citizens have the right to expect, and that governments have the responsibility to deliver.”

General improvements in gender, but West Africa lags behind:

In all regions, the highest sub-category score in the Participation & Human Rights category was achieved in Gender. The notable exception is West Africa, which receives its lowest sub-category score in Gender. West Africa is underperforming in this core governance dimension in comparison to other Participation & Human Rights sub-categories.

Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and Board Member of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation said: “Gender equality is a fundamental governance issue, as captured by the IIAG. It is not only a question of human rights. Africa’s women have the capacity to bring about remarkable change and therefore equity and equality between men and women is in the strategic interests of African leaders and governments.”

Success stories…..and some failures

Over the last six years, Tanzania has climbed up the IIAG’s rankings, making it into the top ten for the first time. Angola, Liberia and Togo have left the IIAG’s group of the ten worst performers. They have been replaced by Eritrea, Guinea Bissau and Nigeria.

From 2000 to 2011, seven countries demonstrated a significant improvement in their overall governance score: Liberia, Angola, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. One country, Madagascar, has significantly declined.

Significant improvements at category level have been registered in Safety & Rule of Law by Liberia and Sierra Leone, in Participation & Human Rights by Angola, Guinea and Liberia, in Sustainable Economic Opportunity by Angola, Liberia, Mauritius and Sierra Leone, and in Human Development by Niger. Significant deteriorations have been registered in Safety & Rule of Law by Libya and Madagascar and in Participation & Human Rights by Madagascar.

Statistical autonomy:

The Mo Ibrahim Foundation continues to advocate addressing the paucity of African data and the importance of statistical autonomy within African countries.

Mo Ibrahim said: “Good governance is about harnessing a country’s resources to achieve the results any citizen living in the 21st century has a right to expect. One of Africa’s biggest leadership and governance challenges going forward is to master its own robust statistical system. Political sovereignty begins with data autonomy.”