The Daily IIJ

By Charles Kimani

In the interest of development and growth of society a free media must exist not only to inform the citizens what is happening but also to drive different agendas in society.

When we were discussing different modes of media, we found out that there are more regional media and broadcasters across different economies. During times of crisis in different nation these media have more often been accused of instigating violence and playing hate messages, which have lead to death of fellow citizens. During the 1994 Rwandan Genocide for example the media house, which was claimed to be owned by the Fugitive Felicien Kabuga is said to have caused the rise of the two major communities there namely Hutus and Tutsis.

Recently In Kenya after the 2007 post election violence, regional media houses have come under more scrutiny than ever before in the history of the media in independent Kenya, they are being accused of fuelling violence in the region that they broadcast.

This leaves me thinking, is it interference with the freedom of the media when government acts against media houses - even if it is for the benefit of the larger majority?