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Defying
a vernacular ban
by Jennifer Wanjiru, Rights Features Service
(September 3, 2000)
As Kenyans reacted with anger over President Daniel arap Moi's
order that a new law that curbs broadcastings in local ethnic
languages rather than Swahili be put in place for private stations,
Kikuyu-language Kameme FM 101.1 defiantly continued to broadcast
in vernacular as two other little-known stations obeyed the President.
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one station in Kenya continues to broadcast in local ethnic
local languages. |
Rather than confront
Moi, the two other stations which were to be affected by the order
— Metro East FM and Rehema FM — swiftly switched to
English and Swahili respectively, effectively leaving Kameme as
the new target of the presidential order.
As that happened, members
of Parliament (MPs) in Nairobi charged that Moi was attempting
to divert attention from the killing of human rights activist
Father John Kaiser, who had been at loggerheads with senior cabinet
ministers.
Government officials
silent
Meanwhile, the office
of Attorney General Amos Wako and that of Minister for Information
Musalia Mudavadi remained quiet as condemnation greeted the president's
bid to outlaw private ethnic radio stations.
Wako and Mudavadi were
ordered on Friday to draft a law that forces private radio stations
to broadcast only in English and Kiswahili. The state-run Kenya
Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) is to be exempted.
For two days, newsrooms
continued to receive calls from angry Kenyans rallying behind
Kameme FM, which has defiantly continued to broadcast in Kikuyu
as usual.
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Some
Kenyans believe that President Daniel arap Moi is trying
to diver attention from the recent murder of Kenyan human
rights activist Father John Kaiser (above).
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Widespread criticism
As Kameme FM proprietor
Rose Kimotho continued to ponder her next move, the executive
director of the International Commission of Jurists (Kenya Chapter),
Kagwiria Mbogori, on Saturday told the President off, saying:
"Our current laws do not specify on languages to be used by both
the electronic and print media. For the government to now turn
around and legislate languages that cannot be used is an obvious
case of press censorship."
"The president's move
is an arrogant affront to democracy and might be a precursor to
sliding to the dark days of intimidation and repression of the
press," says Beth Mugo, an opposition legislator.
Mugo said the President
was infringing on Kenyans' freedom of choice by muzzling the press.
"He cannot order Kenyans to listen to (state-run) KBC's propaganda,"
the MP said.
Kenyans maintained
that the stations, contrary to President Moi's claims that they
promote tribalism, help us understand "our unity in diversity."
Call for defiance
Nairobi University
law professor Kivutha Kibwana urged Kenyans "to reject President
Moi's dubious logic that broadcasting in local languages creates
ethnic chauvinism."
He asked the stations
to defy the order arguing that presidential decrees were not a
source of law and, in future, the president must specify under
which law he was demanding action.
"It is clear that Moi
and the ruling [Kenya African National Union] Kanu party do not
want citizens to be reached in languages that they understand
easily," he said.
The don suggests that
Kenya should have a Freedom of Information Law to regulate the
operations of the media.
A media practitioner
in Nairobi said President Moi was protecting KBC from competition
"from this unexpected source for whom the people seem to have
great affinity."
The head of the Federation
of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Jean Kamau, said, "We see this as an
attempt to make enormous steps back to the dark days of media
control and suppression of freedom of expression.
"To turn around and
ban these alternative media will grossly and unfairly interfere
with citizens' freedom to receive information and we strongly
oppose the move," she said.
Possible diversion
The latest move comes
in the wake of amendments to increase bonds executed by newspaper
publishers from Sh10,000 (US$129) to Sh1 million (US$13,000).
"The assertion that
the KBC is the only qualified station to broadcast in vernacular
smells of double standards and is a throwback to the dark days
of monopolies," said Kagwiria Mbogori, the International Commission
of Jurists Kenya Chapter executive director.
Other leaders charged
that the president was being "trivial" by attempting to divert
Kenyans' attention from the murder of human rights activist Father
John Kaiser.
"It is a diversionary
tactic from the burning issue of the brutal murder of Fr. John
Kaiser, where a cabinet minister has been mentioned," says Kandara
MP John Toro.
He said President Moi
was targeting Kameme FM, which has become very popular, and asked,
"What is so special about the KBC vernacular that it can foster
national unity which the other stations could not?"
"It is wrong for the
government to behave like a man who goes to sell his prize cow
in the market and ten minutes after pocketing the money still
holds the tail," said the MP.
Nairobi politician
Stephen Ruhiu said, "Moi is trying to kill Kameme FM but is bringing
in other extraneous stations into the issue as a camouflage."
As Kameme FM defiantly
continues to broadcast in Kikuyu, it remains to be seen what Moi
will do next and what kind of law will be introduced to tame the
radio station.
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