Clause Won't Be Expunged But Amended, Says Kagwe.
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Monday July 05, 2010 - 01:25:28 in English News by Super Admin
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Information and Communications minister Mr Mutahi Kagwe has defended himself against allegations that he is among the government officials who want to gag the media through the controversial Media Bill.
In an exclusive interview
with the Sunday Nation, Mr Kagwe maintained that all the contentious issues that
have been raised by the media will be resolved soon, but he urged politicians
not to over-politicise the issue when they should have discussed it in the
House.
He said that the Attorney-General Mr Amos Wako is allowed to make
amendments to the draft and advise the President accordingly, since he is
duty-bound to look at and interpret bills, especially contentious
ones.
Considering the media outcry over a contentious clause that would
require editors to disclose anonymous sources of information, the President has
the option of returning the Bill to Parliament with a memorandum stating the
required changes.
Mr Kagwe said Mr Wako will amend contentious clause 38
(4) in a way that will protect media sources.
He hinted that the clause
might not be expunged as demanded by the media, but amended to give an
appropriate reference that will reflect what the concerned parties have
proposed.
On Thursday, the minister told journalists at a press
conference that if the Attorney-General agreed that the courts could not order
editors to reveal their sources, then the President would assent to the
Bill.
Parties referred to
The contentious clause states that:
"When a story includes unnamed parties who are not disclosed and the same
becomes the subject of a legal tussle as to who is meant, then the editor shall
be obligated to disclose the identity of the party or parties referred
to."
But responding to assertions that the Bill would contradict Section
79 of the Constitution that protects the freedom of expression if it becomes
law, Mr Kagwe said: "I don't think so.
We have looked at all aspects of
the law, but at the end of it all we want to promote responsible journalism." He
argued that as a former media operator, he would like to see a free, prosperous
and responsible media.
He maintained that before tabling the Bill, there
were a lot of consultations between his ministry and the various arms of the
media, particularly the Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ), the Media Owners
Association (MOA) and other stakeholders, including committees of
Parliament.
"The whole Bill was tabled to the media owners and all the
amendments were included.
However, as I had told them, their amendments
were bound to change, subject to honourable members' wishes. But after the
debate nothing was changed," the minister said.
He noted that blaming the
Government for the Bill is not the solution to the problem. He added that the
relevant parties need to work together to resolve the dispute over the
Bill.
Professional conduct
On July 3, 2007, the minister told
Parliament during the second reading that the aim of the Bill was to support the
functioning of the media industry by providing mechanisms for setting an
enduring professional conduct within the media.
It seeks to deal with the
conduct and discipline and self-regulation of the media, he said.
The
minister pointed out that there had been a growing trend within the media to
engage in unprofessional behaviour, hence the need for standards of the practice
of journalism.
He argued that this was also borne out of a public demand
to create a He further argued that while the Media Council of Kenya has been in
existence for more than 10 years, it has no legal teeth and has been unable to
create the required regulations.
On publication of the Bill, issues were
raised regarding the membership of the MCK, with the media taking issue with the
earlier provision that its chairman be appointed by the Minister for Information
and Communications.
Mr Kagwe said that the ministry has no particular
interest in appointing a chairman for the MCK.
Fred Oluoch
Clause Won't Be Expunged But Amended, Says Kagwe.
Information and Communications minister Mr Mutahi Kagwe has defended himself against allegations that he is among the government officials who want to gag the media through the controversial Media Bill.