Journalists to challenge laws seeking to stifle freedom of expression

By FELIX OLICK

Kenya: Journalists and media practitioners plan to move to court to challenge controversial laws seeking to stifle freedom of expression and a free press.

Journalists have, jointly with the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), instructed senior counsel James Orengo to file a petition challenging the controversial Kenya Information and Communication Amendment (KICA) Bill 2013 passed before Christmas.

But even as the media industry readied for a court battle, the whereabouts of the fine prints of the KICA and the Media Council of Kenya Act 2013 remained mysterious. The laws had neither been published nor gazetted as required by law by the time of going to press.

Yesterday, LSK Chief Executive Officer Apollo Mboya said Orengo had been instructed to take over the case on behalf of the society, terming it a matter of “public interest”.

“LSK has instructed Mr Orengo to have it enjoined as an interested party in the suit scheduled to be filed by Senior Counsel Paul Muite challenging KICA Bill,” Mr Mboya said in a statement yesterday.

Journalists drawn from the Kenya Editors’ Guild, the Kenya Union of Journalists and Kenya Correspondents Association discussed with the lawyer, yesterday afternoon, the grounds of the petition expected to be filed as soon as the two Acts are formally gazetted.

“We challenge the Attorney General Prof Githu Muigai to make public these Acts so that we can move to court with speed as the laws greatly infringe on media freedom and freedom of expression,” said Mr David Ohito, the Vice Chair of Kenya Editors’ Guild.

Article 116 of the Constitution spells out that “a Bill passed by Parliament and assented to by President shall be published in the gazette as an Act of Parliament within seven days after assent.”

“Our stand as journalists and media practitioners remains the same. The laws do not meet a constitutional muster and contravene rights and freedoms of expression and independence of the media. In short, we are gagged,” Ohito said.

The Media Owners Association had asked Muite to move to court to challenge the enactment of the two laws.

Muite has been representing media owners’ interests in a separate case challenging the commencement of digital migration.

The media fraternity was taken aback by the two laws – KICA and Media Acts – which are now in conflict and introduced punitive fines targeting journalists with a fine of up to Sh500,000 and Sh20 million for media houses.

The offenses attracting such fines have not been specified in the KICA clauses.

The LSK and media want the Complaints Commission retained under the Media Council Bill as the sole body to regulate professional ethics of journalists and not the Government controlled Multi-Media Appeals Tribunal.

LSK insisted that the Multi-Media Appeals Tribunal undermines constitutional principles on free and independent media under the principle of self-regulation and co-regulation.

“The Media council of Kenya should also be allowed to set standards and continue enforcement of professional ethics in line with Article 34(5) of the Constitution,” Mboya said.

Sweeping powers

The Multi-Media Appeals Tribunal has sweeping powers to even attach property of journalists and media houses, just to get the money imposed as fines.

Mboya said LSK was seeking to be enjoined as an interested party for purposes of articulating the broader constitutional issues.

“Our concerns are on the freedom of expression and information with a view of safeguarding constitutional provisions on the same,” he added.

Mboya said that even though President Uhuru Kenyatta forwarded a Memorandum on the Bill to Parliament, it did not adequately address the constitutional issues therein.