Media And Democratic Governance In Kenya

From the upheavals of recent national elections to the success of the #MyDressMyChoice feminist movement, digital platforms have already had a dramatic impact on political life in Kenya – one of the most electronically advanced countries in Africa. While the impact of the Digital Age on Western politics has been extensively debated, there is still little appreciation of how it has been felt in developing countries such as Kenya, where Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp and other online platforms are increasingly a part of everyday life. Written by a respected Kenyan activist and researcher at the forefront of political online struggles, this book presents a unique contribution to the debate on digital democracy. For traditionally marginalised groups, particularly women and people with disabilities, digital spaces have allowed Kenyans to build new communities which transcend old ethnic and gender divisions. But the picture is far from wholly positive. Digital Democracy, Analogue Politics explores the drastic efforts being made by elites to contain online activism, as well as how 'fake news', a failed digital vote-counting system and the incumbent president's recruitment of Cambridge Analytica contributed to tensions around the 2017 elections. Reframing digital democracy from the African perspective, Nyabola's ground-breaking work opens up new ways of understanding our current global online era.

What are the ideal roles the mass media should play as an institution to strengthen democratic governance and thus bolster human development? Under what conditions do media systems succeed or fail to meet these objectives? And what strategic reforms would close the gap between the democratic promise and performance of media systems? Working within the notion of the democratic public sphere, 'Public Sentinel: News Media and Governance Reform' emphasizes the institutional or collective roles of the news media as watchdogs over the powerful, as agenda setters calling attention to social needs in natural and human-caused disasters and humanitarian crises, and as gatekeepers incorporating a diverse and balanced range of political perspectives and social actors. Each is vital to making democratic governance work in an effective, transparent, inclusive, and accountable manner. The capacity of media systems and thus individual reporters embedded within those institutions to fulfill these roles is constrained by the broader context of the journalistic profession, the market, and ultimately the state. Successive chapters apply these arguments to countries and regions worldwide. This study brought together a wide range of international experts under the auspices of the Communication for Governance and Accountability Program (CommGAP) at the World Bank and the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University. The book is designed for policy makers and media professionals working within the international development community, national governments, and grassroots organizations, and for journalists, democratic activists, and scholars engaged in understanding mass communications, democratic governance, and development.

Recent discussion of democratization in Africa has focused primarily on the reform of formal state institutions: the public service, the judiciary, and the legislature. Similarly, both scholars and activists have shown interest in how associational life-and with it a civil society-might be enhanced in the countries of the African continent. Much less concern, however, has been directed to the communications media, although they form a vital part of this process. Media and Democracy in Africa provides the first comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the role of the media in political change in sub-Saharan Africa. The central argument of the volume is that while the media may still be relatively weak compared to their positions in liberal democracies, they have come to play a much more important role than ever before since independence. Although they have not yet demonstrated sufficient effectiveness as public watchdogs and agenda setters, they have succeeded in creating new communicative spaces for people who have previously been intimidated or silent. Building on this the contributors argue that a different conceptualization of democratization than the mainstream currently uses may be necessary to capture the process in Africa where it is characterized by contestation rather than consolidation. This volume shows that the media scene in Africa is diverse. It stretches from the well-developed and technologically advanced situation in South Africa to the still fledgling media operations that are typical in sub-Saharan Africa. In these countries, print media as well as television and radio are just beginning to take their place in society and do so using simple and often outdated technology. The volume also examines how these growing outlets are supplemented by informal media, the so-called radio trottoir, or rumor mill whereby the autocratic and bureaucratic direction of public affairs are subject to private speculation and analysis. Media and Democracy in Africa is organized to provide a historical perspective on the evolution of the African media, placing the present in the context of the past, including both colonial and post-colonial experiences. It will be of interest to Africa area specialists, students of media and communications, political scientists and sociologists. Goran Hyden is Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of Florida. Michael Leslie is associate professor in the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida. Folu F. Ogundimu is associate professor in the School of Journalism at Michigan State University, East Lansing.

This book discusses politics, media, social justice and democracy in Kenya. It shows how media has been used in promoting democracy and devolution in Kenya. On politics and media, the book has elaborated issues arising in the field of practicing journalism and politics. The book is divided into five chapters. Chapter One touches on social justice and democracy, nature of social justice and democracy in African and Kenya. Chapter Two deals with the concept of devolution, main objectives of devolution, benefits of devolution, history of devolution in Kenya, comparing Kenya's, Uganda's and Rwanda's decentralisation. Chapter Three covers media and devolution politics, media and good governance, and what Kenyan media has achieved in devolved governments. Chapter Four has media and politics; Kenyan media and politics, media and political conflict. Finally, Chapter Five discusses cartoon communication and democracy, Role of cartooning in social justice and democracy, and cartoon communication and social justice in Kenya. This book has some chapters that are researched. It is an important book for college and university students.

The path towards democracy in Kenya has been long and often tortuous. Though it has been trumpeted as a goal for decades, democratic government has never been fully realised, largely as a result of the authoritarian excesses of the Kenyatta, Moi and Kibaki regimes. This uniquely comprehensive study of Kenya's political trajectory shows how the struggle for democracy has been waged in civil society, through opposition parties, and amongst traditionally marginalised groups like women and the young. It also considers the remaining impediments to democratisation, in the form of a powerful police force and damaging structural adjustment policies. Thus, the authors argue, democratisation in Kenya is a laborious and non-linear process. Kenyans' recent electoral successes, the book concludes, have empowered them and reinvigorated the prospects for democracy, heralding a more autonomous and peaceful twenty-first century.

On 30th December 2008, the President of Kenya, His Excellency Mwai Kibaki, assented to the controversial Kenya Communications (Amendment) Act 2008 which commenced on 2nd January 2009. This Presidential move had a deep impact on the long discussions, arguments and negotiations that were already in high gear by October 2006, when the Fourth Annual Ethics Conference on Media and the Common Good was held at Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya. The essays in this book make a case for media freedom as well as media responsibility. Let the media create a culture of truth. Let the media not forsake the citizens; let them seek and disseminate the truth; let them not destroy the education, virtues and faith for which so many have shed their blood in Kenya, Africa and elsewhere. May reason prevail, guided by wisdom towards Truth.

This book describes albeit its limitations, how the emergence of a modern public sphere in Kenya has been made possible through the interaction of the mobile phone, (new media tool) and television, (mass media channel of communication) to make the public engage with political and non-political advocates. This political public sphere builds on Habermas' bourgeois public sphere concept. Through a qualitative research approach, the study portrays how the public uses this interactive segment as a meaning structure to decode meaning based of the citizens' historic social-economic experiences. The study however, points out that in some instances the mediating role of Citizen TV influences the way the public decodes meaning of the actions of the political and non-political actors. It also shows how the hegemonic powers of tribal leaders and tribal alliances had a role to play in the final outcome of the Referendum vote of August 4th 2010, which saw Kenya adopt the Proposed New Constitution. The study illustrates that with improvements, a modern public sphere can exist within a commercial media house in Kenya so that citizens can engage in participatory governance and democracy.

The media plays an intricate role in the political economy of developing nations as it conveys the social issues and impacts of a government’s legislation and policy. However, information is often miscommunicated or biased in emergent economies as media owners often tailor news and advertisements to promote their own agendas rather than meet the needs of citizens. Political Influence of the Media in Developing Countries analyzes the use and structure of media in political forums in developing nations. Featuring research on the effects of the media on news consumption and the professional and ethical difficulties journalists and editors face in the dissemination of political messages, this publication is an essential reference source for policy makers, academicians, politicians, students, and researchers interested in the adoption of various media formats used to promote the political environment and civic engagement within developing countries.