We need experts. Absolutely, we do. The media deserves praise for always bringing in pundits – erudite and perspicacious men and women of our society – to help audiences wrap their heads around complex matters of public interest. Some subjects are quite esoteric for the uninitiated mind to grasp. Ngumu sana, like this one:
“From where I sit, President Uhuru Kenyatta is a citizen of this country”. Who would have thought! Very complex subject. If Infotrak or your favourite numbers cruncher went to find out, at least 98.7 per cent of Kenyans wouldn’t know President Kenyatta is a citizen of this country.
So, The Star editors contacted a top-notch “governance expert” who put aside his extremely busy schedule and burned the midnight oil to provide such exclusive insights about the President.
In our fast-paced political world characterised by earthquakes, tsunamis, madoadoa, bottom-up things, crocodiles in River Jordan, disappointments in high places and strategic onslaughts, people need to hear from an expert that President Kenyatta is a citizen of this country, si ndio?
“As such he is allowed to hold any meeting within the Republic of Kenya – whether developmental, political or for any other reason,” expert Brian Weke pontificated in an exclusive piece published by The Star on January 26 (p.5).
Oh, really! Who would have figured out this without the help of a governance expert? “If it means campaigning for anybody, including ODM leader Raila Odinga, then he is within his rights as a Kenyan citizen to do so”. Wow, brilliant! Don’t you love experts.
Down on Kimathi Street, comedian Jalang’o, or media personality as he is known in sections of the Press, explained to James Smart on NTV’s With All Due Respect show why he opposes the bottom-up economic model trumpeted by Deputy President William Ruto. Jalang’o wants to be the next Lang’ata MP.
He said: “I have always believed that the people at the top must make sure that, you know what, that everything must always come down, you understand? Because, let’s be realistic here: If you talk about creating a bottom-up approach on everything, and we know in this country who the collectors are, who the people who keep the resources are, and until they start bringing it to the people, it will be very hard for the people down here to start bringing it back to the top”.
Brilliant. James Smart, with all due respect, tried not to appear to be the expert on the subject. He simply chuckled at Jalango’s elucidation. NTV viewers would make of it whatever they fancied.
Wahreva! That’s it. Give everybody a platform – whether they make sense or not – and let the people decide. It is what fair and balanced election coverage means.
And so, Lugari MP Ayub Savula got his chance on Citizen TV’s Newsnight with Waihiga Mwaura to talk about “The Western Question”. Ahead of the “Madvd Earthquake”, Savula had defected from the ANC and is now deputy leader of the Democratic Action Party of Kenya.
He had attended a meeting of Western Kenya leaders called by President Uhuru Kenyatta that day at State House. What was it about, Waihiga asked him?
“I went to see the guy who is holding the instruments of power for this Republic of Kenya,” he said trivially. Ouch!
Now, Ayub Angatia Savula has a diploma in journalism from Kenya Institute of Mass Communication, a BSc in public relations and communication from Moi University and an MPhil in communication from the same university. He was a journalist at The Standard for 10 years and is a media owner. Savula is serving his second term in Parliament.
He must, of course, know the President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander-In-Chief of Kenya Defence Forces is not some random “guy who is holding the instruments of power for this Republic of Kenya”. Executive authority derives from the people of Kenya. It must be respected.
Newsnight host Waihiga ought to have stopped Savula right there and informed the former journalist and MP that the Head of State and Government ought to be addressed respectfully as “Mr President”, “the President” or “Mheshimiwa Rais”. But Waihiga took no notice. He proceeded to his next question.
“Journalists shall present news with integrity and common decency, avoiding real or perceived conflicts of interest, and respect the dignity and intelligence of the audience as well as the subjects of news,” states the Code of Conduct for the Practice of Journalism in Kenya.
The media must uphold and defend the dignity of every public office, even while holding the occupiers to account. Journalists must make it clear to everyone all the time that public debate must be conducted with decorum. Petty talking heads and dumb “experts” who don’t add any value to the understanding of public affairs insult the intelligence of the audience.
