Thursday evening when the attendance was less than 60% of the entire parliament composition but only 32 MPs available one law that threatens media freedom was passed.
The bill that will lead to the formation of a tribunal to deal with journalists who contravene the code of conduct on journalists. The tribunal will have the power to;
• Impose a fine of not more than Sh20 million on any respondent media enterprise… adjudged to have violated either that law or the Code of Conduct for the Practice of Journalism.
•Fine individual journalists “not more than Sh1 million” for violating
the same code.
• Recommend the suspension or
removal from the register of the journalist involved.
• Power to make any orders it feels
would be necessary to carry into
effect the orders or directives it
would make.
• Organisation found to have
broken the law would be liable to
have his bank accounts raided or
their property sold off for
misreporting.
Jamleck Kamau and Aden Dualle were spearheading the campaign to see the bill passed. With only 32 MPs vote the career shuttering legislation was passed and now awaits the president’s pen to become law.
Should this take effect,journalists especially investigative journalists would be constricted and muzzled since most of the work involves exposing government’s dirty deals.
The tribunal could as well be used to punish journalists whom the government or the legislators would see as “gross conduct”
Is this legislation right?
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