Happy New Year, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press. The year 2026 is already rolling on fast. We don’t have a crystal ball here at The Media Observer to show us what the coming months could bring, but we can confidently predict that the strength of the Fourth Estate in Kenya and throughout East Africa will continue to be tested by increasing repression and a deepening financial crisis.
A viral video clip of a hapless Ugandan journalist being clobbered by anti-riot police officers last week during an opposition presidential campaign rally typifies the frightening state of media freedom in the region. “His crime was not provocation or participation. He was simply doing his job: documenting a political process meant to be public, transparent and democratic,” NTV Uganda reported.
That attack mirrors the depressing situation in every country in the region. Media repression is intensifying across East Africa, despite robust constitutional safeguards and repeated affirmations by politicians.
Ahead of general elections on January 15, the Ugandan government has announced media restrictions. “Live broadcasting or streaming of riots, unlawful processions, or violent incidents is prohibited, as it can escalate tensions and spread panic,” the Ministry of Information Communication and Technology said in a statement.
Authorities often describe anti-government protests as riots, Reuters reported. The ministry also prohibited the dissemination of any content it described as “inciting, hateful or violent”.
Last year presented a poignant case of what happens when the state imposes arbitrary restrictions on media freedom. Because many Tanzanians had no idea the government had declared a curfew after the October 29 disputed elections, some citizens who went out for normal business were killed or injured by police. To date, no one knows the death toll from the police killings and no one has been held accountable.
In the past three years, journalists in Kenya have been specifically targeted by police during public protests or for coverage of something as harmless as the staging of a play by schoolgirls.
Always keep in mind that an attack on a journalist is never about the individual or the media house one works for. It is meant to send a message of violence and fear to the whole industry. It is intended to intimidate and silence all messengers and witnesses to the truth.
What’s our response? The first defence of media freedom is professionalism. Do your job in strict adherence to your training and in compliance with the law and ethics. Journalists err in their duties, obviously. Ours is human work, after all. But we must strive to always stay beyond reproach, even in the face of extreme provocation.
If our ultimate vision is the realisation of a democratic society, where everyone enjoys their rights, peace and prosperity, we must not give the forces militating against this vision any excuse by irresponsible journalism. We must occupy the moral high ground in advancing democracy by always being astute professionals. We cannot hold power accountable if we are part of the recklessness, impunity, abuse of power, corruption and incompetence we rail against every day.
The second defence of media freedom is courage. “Power hates scrutiny. Many of those who rule us will pay any price to be rid of critical voices and the news platforms that amplify them,” the veteran Nairobi newspaperman Joseph Odindo writes.
“Throughout Africa, the right to publish — like political power — has to be grabbed; it cannot be exercised solely on politicians’ goodwill or the strength of a Constitution. Thus, good journalism demands more than an ability to cultivate news sources and generate content. It requires courage.”
What does this mean in practice? On January 2, The Standard carried an unusual headline, “We stand with you”. It was a story about the paper itself as well as about all good journalism.
Blurb: “The first breath of 2026 carries the spirit of an indefatigable populace that believes in honest effort, in what is right and just. Often, citizens may not meet those in power eye to eye when they falter. That is where we come in. The past year served a mixed plate. From police killings and abandoned protesters to shattered companies and cartel-ridden healthcare, our journalism bore witness. We cut through political theatre, named the victims, followed the money and confronted power. Unmoved by pressure or intimidation, The Standard held the line – bold and relentless in giving voice to the voiceless.” That remains the call of good journalism this and every year.
See you next week!
