On May 10, 2018, K24 TV hosted three panelists on the daily morning show. The topic of discussion was why women cheat. That was the same morning news was breaking about a dam disaster in Solai, Nakuru. K24 continued with its talk show even as other stations scrambled to cover the tragedy. One would have thought the great people at Longonot Place would drop everything to tell the world about Solai. We are sure that is what they would have done had some big shot died somewhere.
That aside, the discussion featured Naomi Njenga, a content producer, Beatrice Muraguri, a psychologist and one Andrew Kibe who likes to think of himself as a billionaire. While the topic was attractive (we all love gossip and speculation, don’t we?), host Sarah Ndanu failed to deliver. A debate has at least two sides and a great moderator would know how to get each side to load their cannons and fire!
But Sarah didn’t seem interested in a fierce exchange. She instead tended to easily agree with everything billionaire Kibe said, including his unsubstantiated insistence that women will always cheat. Apparently, women are this one group of homo sapiens who all act the same regardless of age, class, education or any other social markers.
Beatrice spoke from an informed position as an expert. But who needs experts on the business of mpango wa kando? Any claim is as good as another, take it or leave it.
And that is how Kibe, a 2013 candidate for Langata MP, dominated the K24 morning show. All women cheat for money, the pontiff proclaimed.
Well, TV shows that allow guests to make all manner of claims without substantiation are bad for society. Not only do they stifle critical thinking. They also end up entrenching negative stereotypes especially about women.
Can we have informative and fascinating discussions on matters of public interest, including mpango wa kando, Kenya’s unique contribution to civilization? Of course that doesn’t mean only experts should speak.
