By Agwanda Saye
Secretary General
Kenya Association of Freelance Writers.
P. O. Box 9045, KISUMU

020-2124533 / 0724-837060

Press release on former President D.A. Moi’s call that the government to ban vernacular radio stations.

1) Kenya Association of Freelance Writers is strongly opposed to the calls made by retired President Daniel Arap Moi asking the government to shut all “tribal” radio stations as this may hinder the freedom of press and expression which is provided within the Kenyan constitution.

2) We are surprised, that rather than the ex president first addressing the issue to the country’s media regulatory body (Media Council of Kenya) the President has chosen without looking at both sides of the coin to call for the ban not withstanding the fate of those Kenyan journalists who depend on the said stations for their daily bread through a Public baraza.

3) What the ex-president should and out to do was to call for thorough tooth comb check on the stations or call for their regulations by the regulated body.

4) The action we as Kenya Association of Freelance Writers the government should take is to issue through Media Council of Kenya a stern and strong warning directing that the said station to uphold full journalism ethics geared towards upholding the ethics of freedom of the press.

5) By calling for the blanket ban of all those vernacular radio stations the ex president should be able to tell us first where employees of the said will be taken as through the said they are able to fend for themselves and their siblings.

6) Whereas we agree that to a point some of the Vernacular radio station MIGHT have contributed to the post elections violence, his idea that the said vernacular stations be allowed only to propagate cultural values and religious programs are uncalled for as the reality is that without politics involved in the said Vernacular listeners number will dwindle resulting to heavy business loss on their owners as they are in business.

7) Politics and business goes together and the vernacular radio stations owns are in business, how will they be able to meet their operational cost by running cultural programmes the whole day.

8)The ex-president’s insinuation that the stations if not checked will course a major problem in country, is a total LIE as we witnessed major problems i.e inflations, political assassinations, ethnic violences, vote riggings during his tenure as the President yet he had totally refused licensing of the said vernacular stations curtailing the freedom of press and expression which is in enshrined within the constitution.

9) Kenya Association of Freelance Writers says that the only way to deal with vernacular stations is through agitation of responsible journalism and media regulation.