NAIROBI, Kenya, May 3-Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki has called for a review of Kenyan journalists’ pay for them to perform effectively as Kenya joined the world in marking Press Freedom Day.
Kindiki said Kenyan journalists deserve better remuneration commensurate with their day’s work and the country’s high cost of living.
He pointed out that the media has faced increased disruption from the effects of Covid-19, which ravaged global economies and led to the loss of lives and livelihoods.
According to Kindiki, this disruption has led to journalists across the country losing their jobs, with media companies downsizing their human capital and even slashing the earnings of journalists.
He further noted that although journalists go out of their way to speak about issues affecting the citizenry daily, some of them lack even basic human provisions because of poor pay, “and uncaring media sector actors who find this normal.”
“Just as was the message the other day on International Labour Day, it is pretentious of us to expect an independent media and unbiased information from reporters when journalists go for months without pay and others cannot sustain themselves because the pay is too little, “the Interior CS said, “There must be an equal pay for an equal day.”
Kindiki emphasized that financial independence for individual journalists is equal to the overall independence of the media and thus media freedom.
He noted that media freedom in the country is badly threatened by a number of factors, singling out the rise of fake news, deliberate disinformation, and hate speech.
“Today, you are more likely to land onto made-up stories – largely on social media and online platforms – as opposed to truthful information as it was before,” he added.
Kindiki also pointed out that the rise of disinformation is a huge threat to the country’s general security.
He urged the actors in the media sector to support the government by raising the red flag when they come across any instances of disinformation to shield Kenyans from dangers posed by fake news.
He further expressed concern over the rise of “quacks” and called on the media to conduct thorough self-regulation and accreditation to crackdown on individuals masquerading as journalists.
The Interior CS stated that the security agencies in the country will work with media players to help protect the freedom and integrity of the media.
“We will work with all media players to ensure the current media space is not only protected but also expanded systematically in order to eliminate opaqueness in the security sector that more often than not leads to misinformation and speculation,” Kindiki said.
While weighing in on the individual safety of reporters, which he noted has also been under threat, Kindiki said that his office continues to promote the safety of journalists by embedding the media in all their activities, including security operations, “because we firmly believe in an open society and the media represents this openness in our democracy.”
He vowed to continue protecting journalists in the execution of their duties both online and offline and punish those who threaten the safety of reporters in their line of work.
Furthermore, Kindiki emphasized the need for self-regulation and accreditation of journalists to combat the rise of “quacks” posing as journalists.
He expressed concern over the current media space’s opaqueness and its contribution to misinformation and speculation in the security sector.
To address this problem, Kindiki pledged to work with media players to expand the media space and eliminate the opaqueness that leads to misinformation and speculation.
Kindiki reiterated the government’s commitment to working with all media players to protect the freedom and integrity of the media in Kenya.
