Ruto tirade on media has no political value

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Deputy President William Ruto speaks during the funeral service the late Richard Kaguchia father to Nyeri county assembly speaker John Kaguchia at Kiuu Primary School in Mukurwe-ini, Nyeri County, September 29, 2021. [Mose Sammy, Standard]

At the height of a charged campaign period, Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka once told off a reporter: ‘Your name betrays you.’

Angered by the manner the journalist dug in as he sought an answer to a question, the man from Tseikuru lost his cool. His outburst was a direct sneer at the reporter’s tribe. Its timing, in a mystifying way, compares to Thursday’s tirade by Deputy President William Ruto against ‘biased’ media.

The UDA and Kenya Kwanza leader claimed the media is partial against him and his allies. He threatened to pull out of the 2022 presidential and debate – staged by a joint secretariat of media houses, every election year.

Without giving details, specific cases of the alleged bias or a tinge of evidence to that effect, Ruto and his team claimed sections of the local media are mouthpieces of the Raila Odinga-led Azimio la Umoja alliance.

With just 10 weeks to the August 9 vote, these concerns can’t be ignored. However, some home truths should be told before putting any blanket blames on the media’s doorstep.

Being a frontrunner in this election, there’s no denying the UDA leader has been a valuable news source who has hogged immense media limelight. But at the same time, he is reputed for his condescending attitude towards the media.

Months after the Jubilee administration came to power, Ruto and his boss Uhuru Kenyatta gifted local newspapers the ‘meat wrappers’ moniker. The news media became their punching bag. And we saw in 2017 when TV stations were shut for a record 12 days despite a court order. But the DP also recognises the power of social and conventional media. Last year, he took to fiery Twitter screeds, at times aiming jabs at President Kenyatta and the ‘system.’ Like Donald Trump, the DP built a Twitter brand with “fake news” alerts, sharing screenshots of newspaper front pages he detested.

I choose to play the devil’s advocate here. The media and news sources must co-exist. While I do not support any ethical breaches by the industry, something is amiss when we place certain demands and expectations on enterprises we inwardly despise.

The media serves public interest. Politicians, not just Ruto, should let the media be.  Ruto and Raila have been dunking into the media space with zest as they seek votes. It has, in many ways, given them the prominence and visibility they badly need. They must therefore give off the image of patriots who care about free speech. If aggrieved, they should seek redress through due process. Boycotting presidential debates can’t be a measure against a rogue media.  

Media houses do not operate in isolation. There are mechanisms allowing complaints against unfair, less objective or hateful reporting. The media complaints commission, for instance, exists to adjudge such. For the record, threats and implied gags won’t add political value. Outbursts like Ruto’s have in the past led to attacks on journalists in rallies. Media need unbridled freedom to work without which important free speech values are at risk. But scribes too must embrace ethics at all costs.

Something to remember. With the digital revolution, it doesn’t matter if you hate the traditional media. With 52 million mobile connections and 22 million Internet users – eight million of whom are active social media users – Kenya is among nations where Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Twitter are widely used.

Information, including stuff you may not like the mass audience to access, will be out there and in record time. It’s just the reality.

The famous words “I don’t agree with what you say but I will defend to death your right to say it” should be the guiding principle.

The writer is an editor at The Standard. Twitter:@markoloo