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At
the government’s mercy
by John Kamau, Rights News Service
(February 29, 2000)
The fate of a private Kenya radio and television station, initially
accused of broadcasting “anti-government” messages to
areas controlled by the ruling party, hung in the balance today
after a Nairobi court refused to restrain three government agencies
from interfering with the station’s broadcast equipment.
| A
Kenyan court refuses to restrain government agencies from
interfering with an independent radio station. |
High Court Justice
Kasanga Mulwa dismissed petitions sought by Royal Media Services,
the company that runs Citizen Radio and Television, to restrain
Telkom Kenya Ltd., the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), and
the Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) from disabling Citizen
Radio and Television’s broadcasting equipment.
This now leaves the
station vulnerable to the three agencies.
 Justice
Mulwa, a former member of parliament and ruling party official,
said the court will have to determine whether there was a contract
between Royal Media and the above agencies before it restrains
them. “In my view the solution to this problem lies in setting
down the hearing of this suit as soon as possible,” Justice
Mulwa said in his 34-page judgment.
He said that Royal
Media “had not made out a prima facie case nor has it satisfied
me that it may succeed at the full hearing of this matter.”
Shut down by the
government
Royal Media went to
court on January 8 after CCK, which regulates frequencies in the
country, switched Citizen Radio off the air in the Rift Valley
districts of central Kenya, where the 74-year old President Daniel
arap Moi hails from.
 |
Citizen
Radio owner S. K. Macharia believes the real issue over the
controversy surrounding his station is whether people in Kenya’s
Rift Valley can hear his station’s broadcasts. |
Later, the state-run
Kenya Broadcasting Corporation switched off Citizen transmitters
that were housed at KBC transmission towers at Nyambene and Nyeri,
thus cutting the station from the opposition-dominated Central
Province districts.
Telkom Kenya, which
governs telephone and communications in Kenya, disconnected Citizen’s
broadcasting facilities at Londiani Hill on January 7, at Nyambene
on January 26, and at Nyeri on February 2, cutting off a huge
chunk of its listeners and viewers.
Although it is still
not clear why Citizen fell out with the government and why the
three agencies decided to disable its transmission equipment,
Citizen Radio owner, Samuel Macharia, told Rights News Service
that “the real dispute is whether or not certain audience
in some parts of Rift Valley should receive broadcasts from Citizen
Radio and TV.”
Temporary injunction
sought
Soon after the one-and-half-hour
ruling, Royal Media lawyer Gibson Kamau Kuria immediately applied
for a temporary mandatory injunction to enable the firm to restore
its broadcasts pending an intended appeal.
Kuria said the judge
had a concurrent jurisdiction in such a matter and he could issue
such orders to preserve the interests of the parties pending the
hearing and determination of the appeal, even if he had given
a ruling against the sought orders.
Kuria told the court
that it was prudent to issue a temporary injunction so that the
company could reinstate its transmission pending the determination
of the intended appeal.
Government claims
nonpayment of fees
Dismissing the application,
Justice Mulwa noted that Citizen had previously sought mandatory
injunctions against Telkom, CCK, and KBC.
The judge said issuing
a mandatory injunction could only arise in cases where the guilty
party has undertaken a blatantly illegal course of action, which
the court would then need to remedy.
Judge Mulwa noted that
when Royal Media went to court, Telkom had already disabled its
equipment at Londiani Hill on January 7 and that by a letter dated
January 21, CCK had cancelled all frequencies assigned to Citizen.
On the license fees
which CCK director Sam Chepkonga claims Citizen Radio owes the
agency, the court ruled that “there is no basis at this stage
to disprove the express assertions by CCK that there was non-compliance
with the payment terms of the frequencies.”
CCK claims that the
station owes Kshs 20 million (US$286,000) in fees, a charge the
station owner has dismissed as “a lie.” CCK had also
accused the station of shifting its transmitter from Londiani
Hill to another location. Judge Mulwa said that since the matter
of where the transmitter should be has not been resolved and since
it is a criminal offense if equipment are installed in the wrong
place “the above matters till the balance of convenience
in favor of CCK.”
Although Citizen has
appealed, the decision once again illustrates the high-handed
nature of Moi’s government and its opposition to independent
views.
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