Congratulations to President Kibaki
Posted by africanpress on January 4, 2009
For the first time, HE President Mwai Kibaki got it right by signing the media bill. Congratulations. This is a perfect New Year gift to the parents and Kenyans at large.
And I want to be clear. No media has been gagged. The said section 88 has been in our statutes since 1998 and all along the media has been around.
Time has come when the media must be put to task, not the reverse. The media is the one single source that has led to decay in the society. They have never been able to value the social upbringing of our children. At the same time, we must thank the media for remaining so vibrant with political and economic issues. But life is more bigger than politics and the economy.
I support the freedom media to inform and to entertain. But I do not support the freedom of the media to mess the moral upbringing of our children. These are young minds that the media is corrupting, yet we seem helpless.
We have written endless letters to the media owners about TV and FM Radio content to no avail. If the media was responsible, they could have known that politics and more politics is not what defines press freedom.
Press freedom should not includes the kind of pornography that they feed us on Radio, TV and the Mass media. Can we as a society seem helpless when the media invades the social fabric of the nation? I bet no.
The lie that the media has now been officially gagged is just that; a lie. Are our media owners and editors members of the same society with us? Are they comfortable with the lurid talks from some of the presenters both on Radio and TV? Are they comfortable when small children are being corrupted by what they watch and hear on TV and on Radio?
The answer is NO. If the media cannot self regulate, then the government must come to the rescue of Kenyans for the sake of our children.
For me, I am well formed and my mind will not be corrupted by the content of what I watch. The same applies with many adults. But my child is still very vulnerable. He needs protection and guidance, and here is where the government must come in.
The Minister must now move with speed to ensure that the media conveys material that is not harmful to the bringing up of my children. If we are responsible parents, parents who want the best of their children in future, we must all join hands and support the President on this. Otherwise, the purported free media will be our ruin as a society.
Congratulations once more to HE President Mwai Kibaki for signing this Bill.
Posted by Odhiambo T Oketch,
Komarock Nairobi.
