By Kodi Barth
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission did not lock Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka out of the presidential race, yet. And Azimio leader Raila Odinga did not pick Martha Karua as running mate, until he did.
What are we talking about? Media houses that prematurely broadcasted these things as fact got it wrong.
Let’s start with Karua’s nomination.
Hours before Odinga announced his running mate at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre on May 16, The Star posted this story at 8:27 am: “Raila set to announce Martha Karua as his running mate.”
And the intro said: “Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance presidential candidate Raila Odinga has settled for Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua as his running mate.”
The heading was fine. The intro was not. At the time Star published this story, Karua’s candidature had not been announced.
So on what basis did the Star publish it as a fait accompli? On the basis that, “Sources […] intimated to the Star that Azimio Running Mate Selection Panel had said Karua is rated highly for the position.”
That is the closest The Star got to telling readers how they knew for a fact that Karua was the one.
That was not factual news reporting. It was amateur hour at Lion Place.
Then, last weekend most media outlets got it wrong with the Kalonzo locked out story.
For nearly two days from May 27 to 28, media was awash with the story that the electoral body, IEBC, had locked out Mr Musyoka from the ballot.
On what basis? On a technicality. Mr Musyoka’s party did not submit a list of supporters’ signatures in the requisite Microsoft Excel file format and, so, his name was missing from the roster of published candidates for president.
On this basis, practically all news houses trumpeted the line most definitively published May 28 by the Daily Nation: “Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka will not be in the August 9 presidential race…”
That is the definition of “locked out.”
But how many news houses got a quote from IEBC verifying that the omission of Mr Musyoka’s name meant the man was locked out? Where is that story?
As it turned out, by May 28 night the electoral body was in the press with an announcement that it had given Wiper until May 29 to comply.
And The Standard reported that Wiper’s election board chairperson Agatha Solitei, to whom IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati had written the letter giving her party the extension, chastised the press for misreporting on an incomplete process.
It doesn’t matter if games were being played and if Mr Musyoka’s name never makes to the ballot in August. The IEBC giving Mr Musyoka a lifeline after media reported he was “locked out” cut the media’s legs.
