Editor’s note: RMM, a former journalist with leading mainstream media House, writes on media coverage of recent Gen Z protests.
The recent Gen Z protests have seen police officers receive unnecessary bashing from the mainstream media.
Members of the public, the clergy, civil society, and even politicians have also added their voice in castigating the police.
The bashing was mainly in regards to deaths of protestors during the Tuesdays and Thursdays protests.
Official government figures place the number of people who died from the protests at 19. However, rights groups say at least 40 people lost their lives in the protests.
I’m, however, incensed by the bashing of the police being championed by the Kenyan mainstream media.
Notably, the bashing has continued even in cases where police were overprovoked or the protestors blatantly broke the law.
For starters, it has become the tradition of the Kenyan media to aggravate a chaotic situation as long as it boosts viewership. In media parlance, we say if it bleeds, it leads.
It’s also an open secret that the mainstream media in Kenya is suffering from low revenues as advertisers continue migrating to influencers and digital channels.
Therefore, the recent Gen Z protest, and hence the chaos, came as an opportunity for the media to boost viewership and revenue.
I hate to state it, but Kenya has one of the most irresponsible mainstream media in the world.
This is aggravated by the fact that most media owners have strong interests in politics.
As such, a discerning eye can decipher a media owner’s political stand just by watching the news on the latter’s TV stations.
It follows that journalists in the said media houses become radicalised upon learning the political inclinations of their bosses.
However, the journalists have fewer options but to execute their masters’ wishes or be rendered jobless.
The end result is a mainstream media geared towards whipping negative emotions as opposed to educating the masses.
In the case of Gen Z protests coverage, the media portray the police as evil while going slow on reporting on looting and wanton destruction of properties.
Instead, the mainstream media, especially the TV stations, overzealously reported about the loss of lives and painted a picture of a country in anarchy.
You could clearly see how the journalists relished the stories about the lawlessness accompanying the protests.
Notwithstanding, the world is still marveling at the patience of the Kenya Police. This is in consideration that the police were overprovoked by goons who infiltrated the protests.
What’s more, we all know most of those killed breached the limits of a peaceful protest.
But never expect the biased mainstream Kenyan media to discuss issues critically and with a sense of justice.
Whipping up emotions is the place where they excel.
And this became obvious as several government officials, including the president, were interviewed by the mainstream media.
I was particularly taken aback by the interview of President William Ruto by the media bigwigs.
The president’s composure despite the pre-arranged attack by the journalists is commendable.
I sat down and wondered why a country’s media would drag the president through the mud just for views and to please their masters.
Yet knowing most of what media reports are what is okayed by the owners offered some relief.
And I’m saying this as someone who has been a journalist in all the leading Kenyan mainstream media houses.
Most mainstream journalists and editors have little interest in serving the truth to the public.
They generally work for the interests of media owners.
Haven’t you seen a highly rated TV station covering birthday parties and other family ceremonies of the owner?
In the same vein, I watched with dismay as a local TV station interviewed Interior CS Prof Kithure Kindiki.
I found most of the questions posed by the journalist to be intended to fix him rather than shed light on the details of the protest.
However, Professor Kindiki managed to give accurate answers thanks to his thorough understanding of the law.
The journalist in question had a hard time spinning for his bosses during this particular interview. This became apparent as the CS demonstrated that police largely acted within the law during the protests.
There is also the inclination to call analysts that align with the mission of police bashing.
We must call out the mainstream media when it displays obvious bias and the intention to push the country into precipice.
Journalists and media owners are Kenyans, and they are immune to the outcomes of anarchy, as was the case in the 2007 post-election violence.
Not even the affluent neighbourhoods will shield them from the competitive lawlessness that follows anarchy.
Let the media do its watchdog role by keeping to the tenets of justice and constructive criticism.
READ ALSO: Why Ruto, Gen Kahariri Must Deal Decisively with Indiscipline Within KDF
Bashing police with no solid grounds will only lead to low morale in the execution of their duties.
In any case, as Prof Kindiki said in a recent interview, the IPOA and the constitution suffice to bring rogue officers to account.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the position of GOTTA.news. We welcome writers to give their views on various social issues. Send your opinion to info@gotta.news.
