Time media, Kimaiyo ended blame game over Westgate

Kenya: The war of words between the media and the Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo is unnecessary.

The media fraternity is accusing Kimaiyo of attempts to gag them while Kimaiyo maintains he has not at any one time threatened to prosecute journalists over the Westgate mall terror attack coverage.

Kimaiyo says during a news conference he held in his Jogoo House office last week, in which the media accuse him of issuing threats to some journalists, he only cautioned and urged media practitioners to embrace objective reporting instead of only dwelling on the negative side of the story. The police boss said his caution has been blown out of proportion and taken out of context.

It should be clear the media cannot work without the support of the police and vice versa. Going by what happened at the Westgate a month ago, the media and police should cooperate and work together in confronting the challenges caused by terrorism and other related activities.

Kenyans need the media to know what happens whenever there is a problem and police on the other hand should assist the media by providing information that the public needs.

And while reporting issues, the media should not choose to exercise their rights in line with the constitution selectively.

It is time now the media and the IG put their differences aside and work together for the sake of peace and stability.

The media and IG should go back to the drawing board and correct where each of them might have gone wrong during the Westgate incident so that they can correct such mistakes instead of engaging in blame game.

The media and the IG should put to rest their differences and take a common stand to confront the security challenges facing this nation.

{Ezron Wanyama, Bungoma}

The continuous criticism against Kimaiyo by a section of leaders and media over claims he attempted to gag the media over its coverage of the Westgate attack rescue operation should come to an end.

The media, in covering news and analyses of the post-Westgate attack, should consider the fact that families which lost their loved ones are still grieving and carefully select footages which won’t further subject such families to untold suffering.

Journalistic ethic call for responsible reporting of sensitive matters and within the law.

{Concerned Kenyan, Nairobi}

Kimaiyo has come out guns blazing at what he terms irresponsible journalism after some renowned investigative journalists released a documentary on what actually transpired at the ill-fated Westgate mall. He argued the journalists showed lack of patriotism.

I find the statements rather unfortunate since one of the significant roles of the media is to inform the public. It was in the best interest of Kenyans to know what really happened through the media as the government kept giving conflicting information on the incident.

{Brian Adhiambo, Nakuru}