STOIC Posted March 3, 2006 As an African I am always disheartened to hear that African countries are unable to grasp the thicket idea of an ideal democracy. Democracy as we all know brings opportunities for inclusion, effective participation by all the members of a society and an equal voting right. It is democracy that brings political equality, self-determination, prosperity and avoidance of a tyranny. As a young kid growing up under the era of Kenyan one political party system I remember singing songs of praise in my boys school choir band for a government that did not cared for my self determination. A sense of constraint and veiled hostility seemed to be the norm of the Kenyan society. An intense interest of democracy aroused in the public by what was then known at the time as only “SABA SABAâ€. This was a bold claim and considerably a good step towards the right direction. Today the country is under a new democratically elected government. A government that I shall say failed to uphold the principal that elected it to office. The government action of burning the Standard newspaper office and closing the KTN television station was unreasonable and a threat to the freedom of the press. The availability of alternative and relatively independent alternative source of information is both an empowerment and enlightenment to the people. Effective participation of the ordinary citizens in any government can be achieved by the availability of independent news sources. This is the only medium through which people can understand the issues of the government. By Golly I will be surprised if there is any other way the citizens can expressed their concerns or views as effective as through the media. Freedom of press as we all know means not only to be heard, but also it means to hear what others have to say about certain issues. Will the African countries survive the deep fairly critical assessment of their government or will they succumb to silencing the media? Chances are that a new democratically elected government can be turn to be an authoritative one, but it is the voice of the people that will be needed to dumb such governments in the dustbin of history! No government should address the public matters in sub rosa. Fury as Cabinet split over midnight raids on media Story by NATION Team Publication Date: 3//2006 The Cabinet yesterday appeared split wide open over the police raid that took KTN off the air and saw bundles of The Standard newspaper burnt as they came off the press. One group of influential Cabinet ministers denounced the attack as barbaric and an assault on Press freedom, while another clique said police should be allowed to do their work. They spoke as 27 envoys condemned the raid and demanded a Government statement about what action was being taken to investigate the raid in which police destroyed property and kidnapped and harassed TV and newspaper workers. Former minister Kalonzo Musyoka (back to camera in yellow jacket) addresses a crowd outside the Standard's Nairobi headquarters yesterday, as protests grew against the police raid on the group's newspaper and TV station. Photo/Joseph Mathenge The envoys said the raid was in "contradiction to the positive gains" made by the Government on freedom of expression since coming to power in 2002. Leaders of the Orange Democratic Movement also condemned the raid and announced mass rallies throughout Kenya next Tuesday to protect Press freedom. Prominent Cabinet ministers who complained about the midnight attack on KTN and The Standard included Ford Kenya chairman Musikari Kombo, Mrs Charity Ngilu, Mr Morris Dzoro, Mr John Munyes and Dr Newton Kulundu. They demanded that whoever authorised the raid by the hooded and heavily armed elite Kanga Squad – no matter how high their station – should be identified and punished. They were supported by four assistant ministers who said they were speaking on behalf of 27 other colleagues who were outraged by the attack. The assistant ministers included Mr Koigi Wamwere, whose Information and Communications ministry has an overview of Press matters. He said: "This is an extreme measure. We were completely out of the picture. We were not privy to what happened." It was difficult to see the rationale behind the police action, he said, and added: "Brinkmanship will not help anyone. We want a free and independent Press, but also one that is responsible. The Government should also respect that freedom". His boss, Information minister Mutahi Kagwe told the Nation group's TV station NTV his ministry did not authorise the raid. "It cannot order such a thing. I am trying to find out what happened," he said. In favour of the raid were ministers led by Internal Security minister John Michuki who commented: "When you rattle a snake, you must be prepared to be bitten", equating the Government with a serpent. Justice minister Martha Karua said it was a security issue and that the Government's stand was that the rule of law should be maintained and that the police should be left to investigate the matter. The raid and burning of newspapers was captured live on NTV and reported in a special edition of the Daily Nation that quickly sold out. KTN managed to resume broadcasting shortly after 2pm, more than 12 hours after the station was forced off air, while The Standard too put out a special edition which reached the streets in the early afternoon. The national broadcaster KBC came out in support of the Standard Group by running early morning footage of the raid aftermath and the managing director Waruru Wachira later attended a Media Owners Association press conference to condemn the action. Running dispute The raids followed a running dispute between the media house and the Government over a story in the Saturday Standard alleging President Kibaki had held a secret meeting with one of his fiercest critics, former Cabinet minister Kalonzo Musyoka. Both State House and Mr Musyoka denied the story and demanded apologies from the newspaper. flashback to the midnight raid at the media house's printing plant by armed and hooded members of the elite police Kanga Squad. Photo/Joseph Mathenge Three journalists held responsible for the report were arrested and charged in court yesterday with publishing an alarming report. They were released on Sh50,000 bonds while two others who were being sought but had not yet been captured were also released on bail pending their appearance in court. Armed and hooded police raided the headquarters and printing plant of the Standard Group shortly after midnight yesterday. An estimated 30 policemen armed with AK-47 and G3 assault rifles first stormed The Standard's headquarters at the I&M building, in Nairobi city centre, before another squad swooped on the company’s printing plant in Likoni Road, in the city's Industrial Area, and burnt the day’s newspapers, which were just rolling off the presses. The raids were carried out by a rapid response unit code-named the Kanga Squad, backed by detectives from Nairobi provincial CID headquarters and officers from the General Service Unit. They were under the command of an assistant commissioner of police, Mr Jimi Njiru, who is usually involved in operations. The elite Kanga Squad was formed by the Director of Criminal Investigations, Mr Joseph Kamau, specifically to fight hardcore criminals like carjackers, bank robbers and murder hitmen. Local Government minister Kombo yesterday condemned the action as barbaric. "I believe in the freedom of the Press. I have in the past been unhappy with irresponsible journalism. But that irresponsible journalism is not reason to deal with the Press in such barbaric way," he said. He added: "I condemn this fully and whoever is responsible for it, whatever his station, should be brought to book because this is an act that cannot be condoned." Health minister Mrs Ngilu accused her Cabinet colleague Mr Michuki of overstepping himself by allegedly ordering the raid. She accused him of having acted unilaterally since such a matter should have been presented to the Cabinet for discussion before a decision was taken. "It is deplorable that today something like that can happen in Kenya. It is a way of gagging the media whose freedom we have fought to protect for a long time," Mrs Ngilu said. She said the Government had numerous options to take if it were aggrieved by the media. "Dismantling the press, switching off a television station and burning newspapers is definitely not one of them," she said. While conceeding that the media at times made mistakes, she said it was heavy-handed for the Government to have launched the raid. "I do not support what happened. The media should be responsible in what they say and how they say it, but should not be punished in this way for making mistakes," said Mrs Ngilu. Mr Michuki who was mobbed by journalists after attending a presidential function at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre claimed the raid was prompted by the Standard's actions. Issuing licences Information and Communication minister Mr Kagwe said his ministry was involved in issuing licences and broadcasting frequencies and it had not started dealing with the issues. He added: "I am in the Government but I do not know anything about the raid... let me investigate." However, he said the law must be followed strictly by the Government and everybody else. The minister said in reference to the Standard journalists who were being held: "If someone has committed an offence, let him be taken to court immediately. I don't know if they have been held outside the law." Energy assistant minister Mwangi Kiunjuri said the raid and the subsequent vandalism was "unjustified and barbaric." "Whoever authorised the raid should be individually held accountable and the Government should ensure the matter is investigated from all angles and get to the roots of it," he said. He said the act should be condemned by all peace loving Kenyans since it was uncalled for. Condemning the action, Labour minister Dr Kulundu said: "I don't know of any Government decision to react the way it was done. There must be other ways to handle the matter." But he warned the media against making enemies with the Government or painting it negatively every time. Special Programmes minister John Munyes said vandalism was an offence and it should not be associated with the Government. Speaking on behalf of the 27 assistant ministers who complained about the raid, Mr Danson Mungatana, Mr Stephen Tarus and Mr Kiunjuri stopped short of demanding that Mr Michuki should resign. Instead, they said the police should start their investigations into the matter at the door of the person who had ordered the raid. That person should be solely responsible for its aftermath. Tourism minister Morris Dzoro joined the three who described themselves as members of the Government of National Unity. Leaders of the Orange Democratic Movement also condemned the raid, describing it as "barbaric, draconian and an act of desperation from a falling government". They demanded that the Government switched on KTN immediately and allowed The Standard to resume publishing. More than 30 ODM bigwigs, who included Mr Raila Odinga, Mr Kalonzo Musyoka, Prof Anyang' Nyong'o, Mr William Ruto, Mr William ole Ntimama and Mr Mutula Kilonzo called on Kenyans to rise up and resist any oppression by the Government. Addressing an impromptu rally outside the I&M building after meeting The Standard management, the Orange leaders urged Kenyans to come out in large numbers for a demonstration scheduled for next Tuesday to protect the freedom of the Press. The demonstrations, Mr Odinga said, would take place in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu and also in smaller towns. "We urge Kenyans to turn out in large numbers to express their resentment with the cowardly action," Mr Odinga said. 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FatB Posted March 5, 2006 too, long gave up after first 3 lines promis to write a better response later Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
STOIC Posted March 5, 2006 With all due respect to your response of this subject, are you advicing me to write a good short response next time(I do not doubt you have a good intention there) or are you saying you will be back later with a good response? :confused: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RendezVous Posted March 5, 2006 ^It was even more co-ordinated leaving Police Commissioner, Mr Hussein Ali, in the dark.The nearest the attack on the standard was this Cartoon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
