Edith,
Answers to your questions lie in the Communications Amendment Act 2009 and
the Media Act 2007. The two legal instruments were meant to streamline
the Broadcast sector in this country and enable self-regulation of Media,
diversity of opinion and a pluralist broadcast regime. Nowhere in these
legislations that you find government curtailing freedom of speech. Many
people including David were opposed to the implementation of these laws.
The subsidiary legislation supporting these laws were borrowed from The
UK's communications regulator as well as from the Federal Communications
Commission in the US word for word.
The problem therefore is not the government. The problem is US (sisi).
Like you put it for Ghana we speak not with facts but opinion. Rumour
spreads faster than anything in Africa simply because we do not have the
culture of verifying things. There is nothing wrong in promoting peace if
everybody seeks to understand the balance between freedom (liberty) and
supression. In Britain for example, News of The World was closed down by
the government. Was this suppression of speech? Every British citizens
understood that the News Corp had become irresiponsible.
For sure I know the Government wants to know (and I have been asked as to
what may have gone wrong) exactly what went wrong with the IEBC systems.
The Ghanaian and Nigerian ones too had problems. If you recall, the
systems were procured at the last minute even when IEBC had expressed
desire to go manual due to lengthy procurement processes. The
manufacturer hurriedly tried to meet the short deadlines.
Even in this forum we are making opinions as if they are facts. It would
help if we have some analyst give us the facts upon which we can advance
our opinions. If you watched the US elections carefully, they were more
into analytics and building trajectories that helped citizens understand.
Take for example four constituencies say, Kilome, Rarieda, Mathioya and
Konoin. Knowing the trend in these constituencies, we could have very
easily built a trajectory for all neighbouring constituencies using
average turnout and registered voters. This will give you better insight
to ask intelligent questions that will make great news than the way we
handle such issues to the extent media would think it is propaganda.
My point is that we had far too much data to make great stories that do
not point to violence or hate message. No mews media that can dismiss a
good argument and especially when it is different fresh and logical. In
essence convert data into information.
Regards
Ndemo.
> Listers,
>
> For the 2007 elections, Bwana Ndemo is on record here (KICTANET)
> condemning the role of the media in fueling the violence.
>
> In 2013, the media played a different role. If you now reflect back - deep
> and hard - it occurred to me that the over-rated, over-hyped, over-done
> "call for peace" was actually a "tool of oppression"!!
>
> Why do I say this? Many a Kenyans found themselves speechless and
> voiceless....you were not given a chance to speak your mind, to question,
> to freely air your opinions or liberally reflect on the going ons. You
> were promptly slapped with the "peace call" which immediately silenced
> you! Why should I feel silenced by "a call for peace"? Our national anthem
> talks of "peace and liberty", what happened to "liberty" during this
> period?
>
> Most Kenyans locked themselves in their houses, scared stiff of the
> unknown. Reflecting back it was truly a "silence tool".
>
> In my view, what is going on in Kenya is God's birth of a NEW KENYA. It is
> NOT (and I repeat NOT) about THE WINNER or THE LOSERS (Do NOT get me wrong
> - I don't mind about that). It is about laying a NEW FOUNDATION for Kenya
> that is built on TRUTH (RIGHTEOUSNESS) and JUSTICE, especially during this
> Jubilee period (50 years of our existence as a nation as we enter into the
> next 50 years - the next Jubilee).
>
> From now on, and as our national anthem aptly states, JUSTICE will truly
> be our SHIELD and DEFENDER.
>
> Sustainable peace (not FALSE PEACE) is built on the foundations of TRUTH
> (righteousness) and JUSTICE.
>
> Reflective Edith
>
> Quote: I should like to be able to love my country and still love justice
> (Albert Camus)
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