Kenyan Parliament Passes Draconian Law Against The Press!!!

[Ab-Titchaz]

Jinsi walivyofanya sio bomba kabisa kumtoa pale ilitosha kisha wangemfungulia mashataka yatokanayo kama yapo.Haya mambo ya kunyamazisha watu muda wake umepita.

Nakubaliana na mawazo yako moja kwa moja.Ile kumkurupusha kutoka juu hadi chini ilikua tosha.Kujaribu kumlostisha ni mambo ya zamani and the Kenyan security apparatus can do better.

 

[Lusajo]

DUH!! Hii ni nomaa, yaani wamemminya jamaa mpaka hawezi kukojoa vizuri, halafu alichukuliwa mbele za watu n a video camera zilikuwepo. sasa kwa Africa atapata haki zake?

 

[Lole Gwakisa]

Hivi jamani mtu kulia njaa mbele ya Rais wake ishakuwa "a security threat", maana sasa inabidi mtu ajiulize huyo Rais Kibaki ni wa akina nani hadi asuwasikie wananchi wake wakilia njaa?

 

[Mtu B]

Duh kumbe hawa jamaa ni balaa kihivi?

 

[Ab-Titchaz]

Duh kumbe hawa jamaa ni balaa kihivi?

Nd'o Kenya hio...asikuambie mtu kitu mwanangu!!!

 

[Ab-Titchaz]

Hivi jamani mtu kulia njaa mbele ya Rais wake ishakuwa "a security threat", maana sasa inabidi mtu ajiulize huyo Rais Kibaki ni wa akina nani hadi asuwasikie wananchi wake wakilia njaa?

Thats the billion dollar question to the President...watu wanalia njaa, bei ya unga wa ugali haish'kiki...afu haya nd'o matokeo yake? Watu hata hawana soni jamani!!!!

 

[Mfumwa]

Kibaki atia saini..............

Sheria 'utata' yapitishwa Kenya

Imeandikwa na mwandishi wa BBC

Rais wa Kenya, Mwai Kibaki ametia saini muswada wa marekebisho ya sheria ya mawasiliano ya mwaka 2008, licha ya pingamizi kutoka kwa wadau wa sekta ya habari nchini humo.

Katika taarifa iliyotolewa kwa vyombo vya habari, rais Kibaki amesema udhibiti wa vyombo vya habari vya elektroniki (Radio na Televisheni), utasaidia kulinda utamaduni, tabia njema na utaifa.

Vyombo vya habari vinapinga muswada huo, ambao una vipengele kadhaa, moja wapo kikiwa kimoja kinachompa nguvu waziri wa Usalama wa nchi kuvamia vyombo vya habari na pia kunyanganya vifaa vya utangazaji.

Source: BBCSwahili.com | Habari | Sheria 'utata' yapitishwa Kenya

 

[BAK]

Kibaki atia saini..............

Sheria 'utata' yapitishwa Kenya

Imeandikwa na mwandishi wa BBC

Rais wa Kenya, Mwai Kibaki ametia saini muswada wa marekebisho ya sheria ya mawasiliano ya mwaka 2008, licha ya pingamizi kutoka kwa wadau wa sekta ya habari nchini humo.

Katika taarifa iliyotolewa kwa vyombo vya habari, rais Kibaki amesema udhibiti wa vyombo vya habari vya elektroniki (Radio na Televisheni), utasaidia kulinda utamaduni, tabia njema na utaifa.

Vyombo vya habari vinapinga muswada huo, ambao una vipengele kadhaa, moja wapo kikiwa kimoja kinachompa nguvu waziri wa Usalama wa nchi kuvamia vyombo vya habari na pia kunyanganya vifaa vya utangazaji.

Source: BBCSwahili.com | Habari | Sheria 'utata' yapitishwa Kenya

Tanzania nayo si ajabu viongozi wanafuatilia kwa karibu kuhusu sheria hii na kuangalia uwezekano wa kuipitisha Tanzania maana vyombo vya habari vinaiendesha puta serikali tangu iingie madarakani.

 

[MwalimuZawadi]

Tanzania nayo si ajabu viongozi wanafuatilia kwa karibu kuhusu sheria hii na kuangalia uwezekano wa kuipitisha Tanzania maana vyombo vya habari vinaiendesha puta serikali tangu iingie madarakani.

Mkuu
Waache wabunge waTanzania nao waipitishe tena waongeze kinachopiga marufuku matumizi ya sms na JK ahakikishe anaweka sahihi haraka halafu wataona moto wake...Watanzania sio mabwege tena...Ndugu Mwakyembe 2008. Mambo ya kubaniana kama haya ndio yanakuza ubunifu.
Tatizo Kenya wanalipana kisasi wanasiasa vs wanahabari

 

[Madela Wa- Madilu]

Nasikia harufu kali ya Damu ya binadamu.
Watu wachache ni lazima wafe ili wengi tuishi, kamwe wengi hawafi ili wachache waishi.
Nasikia harufu kali ya Damu ya binadamu

 

[BAK]

Mkuu
Waache wabunge waTanzania nao waipitishe tena waongeze kinachopiga marufuku matumizi ya sms na JK ahakikishe anaweka sahihi haraka halafu wataona moto wake...Watanzania sio mabwege tena...Ndugu Mwakyembe 2008. Mambo ya kubaniana kama haya ndio yanakuza ubunifu.
Tatizo Kenya wanalipana kisasi wanasiasa vs wanahabari

Ni kweli unachosema Mkuu, lakini inashangaza kuona Odinga pamoja na matatizo yote yaliyotokea Kenya mwaka mmoja tu uliopita na wanahabari wengi kuandika yaliyojiri kuhusu uchaguzi ule leo kawapa kisogo wanahabari na kuiunga mkono sheria hii iliyopitwa na wakati.

 

[Mfumwa]

Ni kweli unachosema Mkuu, lakini inashangaza kuona Odinga pamoja na matatizo yote yaliyotokea Kenya mwaka mmoja tu uliopita na wanahabari wengi kuandika yaliyojiri kuhusu uchaguzi ule leo kawapa kisogo wanahabari na kuiunga mkono sheria hii iliyopitwa na wakati.

Bubu Ataka Kusema, utawaweza wanasiasa, yeye (Raila) keshaupata uWaziri Mkuu. Angalia watu kibao wako jela sasa, ndio waliomfanya aupate huo uongozi, wao ndio walipiga kura, wakaingia njiani kudai haki, lakini hatima yao ni nini?. Hawa viongozi huwa watu wakati wakiomba kura, baada ya hapo hujifanya hawakumbuki nyuma.

 

[Mfumwa]

Tanzania nayo si ajabu viongozi wanafuatilia kwa karibu kuhusu sheria hii na kuangalia uwezekano wa kuipitisha Tanzania maana vyombo vya habari vinaiendesha puta serikali tangu iingie madarakani.

BAK na MwalimuZawadi, Tanzania tuna sheria kama hii, sema ya Wakenya imekuwa kali zaidi ya yetu. Ndio maana Waziri akawa na uwezo kulifungia Gazeti la MwanaHalisi. Sasa labda wanaweza kusema wanaiboresha iwe kama ya Kenya.

 

[Mfumwa]

Uproar as Kibaki signs controversial Bill

By Saturday Standard Team

President Kibaki has signed into law the controversial Communications (Amendment) Bill 2008, which the media and human rights groups say is draconian and retrogressive.

The Editors Guild immediately denounced the action, while the Media Owners Association was set to hold a crisis meeting last night.

"This is retrogressive. He has looked for an excuse to clamp on democracy. The President has completely evaded the issues we have raised as the media fraternity," said Mr Macharia Gaitho, chairman of the Editors Guild.

Gaitho said by assenting to the Bill, President Kibaki had proved he was not sensitive to the interests and wishes of the nation.

He said the President had had ignored the issues at stake as outlined in the memoranda presented to him by the guild and the association.

The Media Council of Kenya (MCK) expressed shock and disappointment. MCK chairman Wachira Waruru said the council will not relent in its fight for press freedom and independence.

"The Media Council will meet with other stakeholders to consider the disturbing development," said Waruru in a statement.

While justifying his move, the President said the concerns raised by the media were contained in a separate Act and he would not have addressed them by declining to assent to the Bill.

The Head of State said he had assented to the Bill because it was of great benefit to the country.

He supported the regulation of electronic media, saying it would promote and safeguard "our culture, moral values and nationhood."

The President said he had noted Section 88 was not part of the Kenya Communications (Amendment) Bill, 2008, adding that it was in the Kenya Communications Act, 1998.

"By refusing to assent to this Bill, I will not have addressed this concern of the media. Accordingly, I urge the stakeholders to address this issue separately," he said in a statement issued from State House, Mombasa, where he is on holiday.

He acknowledged he had received numerous appeals from stakeholders in the media industry urging him not to assent to the Bill.

The President said he had carefully considered their concerns on Section 88 of the Kenya Communications Act, which gives the Government power to restrict media operations during a state of emergency.

He said by assenting to the Bill he had considered the fact that there is wide consensus among the stakeholders that the Kenya Communications Amendment Bill addresses issues of critical importance to the country’s economic development.

The President cited the regulation of electronic transactions such as the M-Pesa, which has employed more than 12,000 Kenyans within one year of its operations, as one of the critical issues addressed by the Bill and where there was consensus.

The other is the Business Processing and Outsourcing (BPO) sub sector, which has created more than 5,000 jobs. He said the enactment of the new law would enhance investor confidence and lead to more jobs and economic benefits, especially for the youth.

He said regulation of the electronic transactions creates room for pursuit of the ideals of Vision 2030. The President said his Government remained committed to Press Freedom and democracy and assured the media and the public that it would not roll back on the gains made.

He told the media to recognise that freedom comes with responsibility.

"While press freedom is a cardinal pillar of democracy, this is a right that carries with it special duties and responsibilities. Press freedom must therefore be counterbalanced with other freedoms and must at all times take into account the overriding interest and the safety of Kenyans," said the President.

Cabinet ministers James Orengo and Musalia Mudavadi said they were disappointed by the move.

Sources close to Prime Minister Raila Odinga said he had hoped a scheduled meeting between Kibaki and media stakeholders early next week could have reached an agreement over contentious issues in the Act.

Mudavadi told the media not to panic as the offending law could be repealed in the next session of Parliament.

"It is not the end of the road to the media fraternity. We have seen laws passed and processes to amend them instituted immediately," he said.

Orengo said by assenting to the Bill, Kibaki had stabbed Raila in the back. The PM had on several occasions assured the public the President would return the controversial Bill to Parliament.

The Lands minister said he would ask ODM to show leadership by sponsoring a private Bill to repeal the offensive sections of the Act touching on broadcasting.

Medical Services Assistant Minister Danson Mungatana was among the most vocal supporters of the Bill in the House last month. The Garsen MP said the media needed to be checked on programming to bar "obscene" messages from being broadcast.

Mungatana accused the media of plotting to bring down Parliament and influence President Kibaki not to assent to the Bill. He had also asked Speaker Kenneth Marende to censure the Press over the coverage of the passing of the Bill.

"There is a serious campaign against this Parliament by the local media and internationally over the Kenya Communications (Amendment) Bill," Mungatana said.

Mwingi South MP David Musila argued the media had sweeping powers, which should be checked.

Dr Simiyu Eseli (Kimilili, Ford-Kenya) cautioned against Press censorship.

"What shall we do with the media? As we try to reform the media, let us not try and gag them because they are also our mouthpiece," he said.

Stories By JOSEPH MURIMI, ABIYA OCHOLA and MASEME MACHUKA
Source: The Standard | Online Edition :: Uproar as Kibaki signs controversial Bill

 

[Ab-Titchaz]

Ni kweli unachosema Mkuu, lakini inashangaza kuona Odinga pamoja na matatizo yote yaliyotokea Kenya mwaka mmoja tu uliopita na wanahabari wengi kuandika yaliyojiri kuhusu uchaguzi ule leo kawapa kisogo wanahabari na kuiunga mkono sheria hii iliyopitwa na wakati.

BAK,

hii ishu kwa Raila ni kubwa mno in regards to his political future. Kibaki
anajua hata akipaka choo, keshamaliza term yake and he cares less.
In that regard Raila has been forced to call a crisis meeting.

New law: Raila calls crisis meeting

​

Updated 4 hr(s) 56 min(s) ago
By Oscar Obonyo

As outraged Kenyans protested against the endorsement of media raids in a draconian law by President Kibaki, matters were bubbling in the delicate Grand Coalition Government.

Reports indicated all was not well as a line was drawn between friends of the media and the hawks in Government over the punitive Communications (Amendment) Bill 2008 signed into law on Friday.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga has called a crisis meeting of ODM ministers and legislators to reassess the party's "standing in Government" this Wednesday.

The PM considers the development as a slap in the face after he had publicly assured Kenyans that the President would not append his signature to the controversial Bill.

The move by the President has caused ripples in the media fraternity but there are indications that it could have even more devastating effect on the Government.

Of great concern is that the simmering tension in Government could have dire repercussions on the political stability, including derailing the ongoing reform agenda. Raila meets ODM top guns on Monday afternoon to address national crises. Sources said the agenda is food shortage, ECK, media freedom and state of the coalition before the joint party NEC and parliamentary Group meeting on Wednesday.

Close associates of the PM and Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka have confided in The Standard on Sunday that they were not consulted over the decision to assent to the Bill.

"The move is unpopular with the people and our feeling is that the President wants to go down with everybody, forgetting that some of the key players like the PM and the VP have a political future beyond 2012. Of course Raila and Kalonzo will resist his unorthodox manouvres," a minister observed.

Current crisis

Our sources trace the current imbroglio to political developments towards the end of last year. The source of the friction was the manner in which the cancellation of the annual State House dinner dance was communicated.


According to our sources, the PM and VP were kept in the dark until the eleventh hour. The PM reportedly received a call from an official of State House informing him of the cancellation, while a Permanent Secretary reportedly conveyed the VP's message via a phone text message.

"However, the VP is not making a public protest about the whole matter because the President is his boss and only him knows best how to handle the issue if he feels aggrieved," added a close associate of Kalonzo.

Nonetheless, the politician explains that the VP's record on Press freedom is clear: "As far as he (Kalonzo) is concerned, it is not over yet. Media owners should now dialogue with Government on the offending clauses and sort out the standoff."

For Raila, though, it is a different story. There is a strong feeling among his allies that Kibaki disregards his opinion and "acts as if he won a clear mandate to run the country alone".

Although the National Accord and Reconciliation Act 2008, which ushered in the Grand Coalition Government, places the PM at par with the President, in practice the story is different.

ODM founder member Mr Mugambi Imanyara says the party leader and members were ignored during the signing of the Bill. This, he observes, casts aspersions on the Grand Coalition Government.

"Even as we convene on Wednesday to agree on the way out, the general feeling within the party leadership is that we shall sponsor a private member's Motion to delete all the offending clauses," says Imanyara, the party's Secretary of Legal Affairs.

Surprise turn of events

Meanwhile, a senior PNU party operative and close ally of the President has expressed surprise at the turn of events. Noting that the President has "a lot of respect for the PM and consults him frequently on matters of national interest", he blames the PM for "acting emotionally" over the Media Bill question.

"I know for sure that the President and the PM get along very well and are in agreement over a number of issues. What I do not understand, however, is how these decisions eventually get overturned," he says.

The Standard on Sunday has established that the two leaders routinely hold briefing meetings every Wednesday mid morning, either at State House or Harambee House.

"Even when he wanted to effect changes on diplomatic postings to our embassies abroad, he dispatched (Head of Civil Service) Mr Francis Muthaura to the PM's office to compare notes. And because ODM leaders protested heavily about the list, the changes have not been effected two months on," says the official.

Nonetheless, ODM feels aggrieved and will this Wednesday meet to iron out burning issues. Top on the agenda are the Media Bill, the rising fuel and food costs as well as the question of the Electoral Commission of Kenya. Members are irked by what they perceive as interference by the Muthaura over the transition process after the disbandment of ECK.

Weighty matter

"The matter is weighty. On Monday morning the PM will meet top advisers and party officials to consult ahead of the NEC (National Executive Council) and PG (Parliamentary Group) meeting on Wednesday," divulged a party official.

"We want to draw a clear line of what ODM can take or can't take in this union. We are quickly losing identity and we want to remain loyal on the platform that we campaigned for," he added.

And while ODM appears to have taken a uniform and firm decision on the Media Bill, there are divided voices for and against the Bill within PNU, ODM-Kenya, Narc-Kenya and Kanu.

Although several MPs in these parties support the new law, Nairobi Metropolitan Development Minister Mutula Kilonzo, of ODM-Kenya, leads the pack of those against.

The Standard | Online Edition :: New law: Raila calls crisis meeting

 

[Ab-Titchaz]

You have failed us, Mr President!!!!

​

By Gakuu Mathenge

When he ignored local and international concerns on the Communications of Kenya (Amendment) Bill 2008 to sign it into law on Friday, President Mwai Kibaki deliberately turned to syntax to justify an improper act. His Government resorted to propaganda to portray media practitioners, human rights activists and lawyers - among other critics - as too ignorant to understand depth and potency of the venom in the new law.

He portrayed thousands of experts opposed to the law as too ignorant to comprehend the intricacy of his decision or too haughty to care for the purported good aspects of the new law and its role in fulfilling the Vision 2030 dream.

We all want the country to prosper. We want a better future for our children, an environment that attracts investors, and a people who stand for the national good. But this can only be achieved with good laws, which is why we are upset with the President's decision to assent to a Bill that negates the very basic of aspirations of our country.

It is unfortunate that the President claims that section 88 is not part of the amendments passed by the Parliament in December, lack of quorum notwithstanding. This is the ominous section that empowers the Minister for Internal Security to storm media houses and confiscate broadcast equipment.

It is curious for the Head of State to twist the truth, ignore salient issues and popular appeal and make Kenyans believe he is making a credible argument.

It is alarming if he innocently believes or has been made to believe that the draconian law he has assented to is his New Gift to Kenyans.

As stated by the President, section 88 belongs to the Communications of Kenya Act of 1998, established to direct telecommunications and two-way radio communications.

However, when the Minister for Information and Communications purported to amend the 1998 Act to include the broadcast and new information technology sectors through a new Bill, he left its most draconian section intact.

The nexus between the two laws is unnerving, except to the President and self-styled experts on moral turpitude, new media, the Rwanda genocide, responsible journalism and pornography and media laws and ethics.

Kibaki conveniently ignored the many areas of concern about these bad laws, including the Internal Security minister's immense powers to interpret, decide and impose a state of emergency in concert with ‘friendly' appointees at the proposed Communications Commission of Kenya.

The destiny of this country should be left to neither a conniving Presidency and Judiciary nor pliant and conspiratorial Parliament, which in the Kenyan case represent a confluence and flirtation of diabolic interests the democratic majority have been trying to overturn since 1963.

This low point in Press freedom, hence democracy itself, reminds us the incompleteness of Kenya's journey to true democracy. It teaches the need for eternal vigilance and jolts Kenyans to the reality of leaders who ascend to power preaching democracy but nurture authoritarianism once on the throne.

The new media law is a sad chapter in the history of the nation and will, definitely, be a major blot to Kibaki's legacy and that of the key pillars of his administration.

At a time when most regimes in the world are busy expanding the horizons of democracy, it is unfortunate that we are reducing the gains we have painstakingly made.

However all is not lost. We take solace in the assurance that Parliament may repeal the new law when it resumes.

The Standard | Online Edition :: You have failed us, Mr President

 

[BAK]

Monday, 5 January 2009

Crisis talks for Kenya coalition
BBC News Online​

Raila Odinga had said the media law should be reviewed
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga is holding crisis talks with the leaders of his party amid complaints he is being sidelined by the president.

President Mwai Kibaki on Friday signed a controversial new media law opposed by Mr Odinga - one of several issues dividing the power-sharing partners.

The pair agreed to work together last year to end clashes over disputed polls which left some 1,500 people dead.

Some Kenyans fear political bickering could lead to renewed violence.

The BBC's Josphat Makori in Nairobi says tension has been brewing between the coalition partners for some time.

But he says the political hornets' nest was really stirred up on Friday when President Kibaki approved the media law, which journalists say will muzzle the press.

Mr Odinga had asked the president to reconsider the measures, after it was bitterly opposed by journalists.

Freedom fighters

Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) parliamentary group secretary Ababu Namwamba told Kenya's Standard newspaper: "As partners in this coalition, we are asking for some respect."

Parliament, where the ODM and its allies hold a slim majority, has approved the bill but correspondents say Mr Odinga's party changed its position following representations from journalist groups and media owners.

Mr Odinga is meeting the four most senior party officials on Monday and then later in the week the party's full leadership is expected to meet again in Nairobi to discuss the way forward on the National Accord.


Mwai Kibaki said the new media law would safeguard moral values

That agreement, brokered by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in February 2008, paved the way for the ODM to share power with President Kibaki's Party of National Unity (PNU).

The ODM has been unhappy with recent decisions involving the constitution of an interim electoral commission - the original was disbanded after the disputed poll - and the appointment of ambassadors.

Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai on Sunday criticised the president for signing the bill, saying he had turned his back against a media that had elevated him to the presidency.

Kenyans would not surrender basic freedoms for which they had fought for many years, he said.

The Kenyan Communications Amendment Bill gives the authorities the power to raid media offices, tap phones and control broadcast content on grounds of national security.

President Kibaki said on Friday that the bill was crucial for Kenya's economic development and would safeguard moral values.

Correspondents say the former British colony, which won independence in 1963, boasts one of the region's liveliest media scenes.