From: ouko joachim omolo
Colleagues Home & Abroad Regional News

BY FR JOACHIM OMOLO OUKO, AJ
BONDO-SIAYA COUNTY
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2011

While the idea that Kanu is to take advantage of technology and the digital revolution to open a television station, radio station, run its own newspaper and acquire its own printing press, not only to give the party popularity but also to use it as a vehicle for Deputy Prime Minster and Minister of Finance, Mr Uhuru Kenyatta road to 2012 presidency, this is not going to be an easy task.

Although according to who owns Kenya Uhuru is one of the richest individual Kenyans, owning net worth-$500 Million invested in land alone, using this wealth in media campaign and to regain his lost popularity in Kanu would not give much impact either. This is also to consider that Uhuru’s name has been tinted in 2007/008 post election violence.

Again, given that Uhuru Kenyatta is the son of Kenya’s first president, Jomo Kenyatta, Kenyans will be too slow to elect him for fear that like his father he will take Kenya back to dark ages of his father.

Uhuru is heir to some of the largest land holdings in Kenya. He owns at least 500,000 acres of prime land spread across the country. The land was acquired by his father in the 1960s and 1970s when the British colonial government and the World Bank funded a settlement transfer fund scheme that enabled government officials and wealthy Kenyans to acquire land from the British at very low prices.

Apart from land, Uhuru and his family also own Brookside Dairies, Kenya’s largest dairy company, as well as stakes in popular television station K24 and a commercial bank in Nairobi, among other interests.

With his wealth Uhuru is also expected to pay the newly created party secretariat- Secretary for Information and Media Relations, Secretary for Environment, Wildlife Conservation and Tourism, Secretary for Education, Research and Technology, Secretary for Labour and Industrial Relations and Secretary for International Affairs.

In addition to the seven-member advisory council Kanu is also proposing to have a County Assembly Forum, which is an organ of the party grassroots level. It will have members operating from the ward level because county representatives will be elected from the wards.

Although the Daily Nation is the most authoritative of all Kenya’s newspapers, providing comprehensive and balanced coverage of Kenyan news, arguably the most objective, independent, and unbiased in its news coverage, alternative media for Uhuru still remains an ideal for his campaign alright.

The Standard which is Kenya’s oldest daily newspaper (founded in 1902) and the second most widely read, owned by The Standard Group, which also owns the KTN television station, and like the Daily Nation, it offers very comprehensive news coverage, even though it is considered to be more critical of the government and is perceived as leaning more towards the side of the opposition, unlike Daily Nation which is perceived to be in favour of PNU of which Uhuru is affiliated, alternative media is still the right move for Uhuru.

Business Daily is likely to be in Uhuru’s favour, given that it is also published by the Nation Media Group, is East Africa’s premier business newspaper, focusing on business news from the East African region. If you are an investor like Uhuru, the paper is an ideal.

Kenya Times for example, became an ideal paper for Kanu during those early days of Moi because the party owned it. The newspaper used to be one of Kenya’s top three papers, along with Daily Nation and The Standard. The newspaper lost its taste and was eventually closed following the introduction of multiparty politics and the subsequent defeat of Kanu in the 2002 elections.

The 27 year old newspaper suddenly shut down in early June overwhelmed by massive debts, rendering many workers jobless and unpaid salaries. The last issue of the Kenya Times appeared on Friday, June 4 2011.

Other newspapers include the East African, a weekly newspaper published by the Nation Media Group. It offers comprehensive coverage of news from across the entire East African region (Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania). Like Business Week, the newspaper also covers a lot of business news, even though is engineered with the East African community in mind.

Given that Coast Weekly newspaper focuses on tourism and entertainment news, mostly from Kenya’s coast towns of Mombasa, Malindi and Lamu, which are also the country’s leading tourist destinations, it cannot be on Uhuru’s favour. It mainly targets tourists and players in the tourism industry.

Although the People Daily could work on Uhuru’s favour given that it is owned by veteran politician and businessman Kenneth Matiba, the fact that it commands a very small market share, even though it was initially launched to challenge the Daily Nation on political news coverage, is why alternative media still an ideal for Uhuru.

The Nairobi Star could also be an ideal newspaper for Uhuru, however, given that it mainly carries Kenya’s “juicy” news, mostly focusing on gossip about Kenya’s public figures and celebrities, appealing to a younger audience who may not be interested in mainstream news carried by the other newspapers, and because it is owned by the same company that owns the Classic FM and Kiss 100 FM radio stations, the paper won’t sale on Uhuru very much.

Launched in September 2007, Like the Nairobi Star, The Daily Metro which features mainly on editorial won’t be an ideal paper for Uhuru. This is because, like Nairobi Star the newspaper targets younger readers and those in lower and middle income levels. That is why it sells at a lower price than all of the other papers. It appeals to people looking for a lighter read, and is aimed at younger Kenyan readers who want “easy-to-read” materials.

Even though alternative Print Media plays a major political role in Kenya, and like many other countries, has its fair share of “gutter” or “street” publications whose content is not considered mainstream or newsworthy, among them being the Weekly Citizen and Confidential, the fact that both are less authoritative than their mainstream counterparts, despite the fact that it often carry interesting local news that other newspapers do not find worthwhile to publish, these prints cannot have an impact towards Uhuru’s campaign.

Uhuru is yet to work very hard through his proposed media to convince Kenyans that a Kikuyu cannot be elected president as perceived by some section of Kenyans. He is again to convince Kenyans that he cannot take the country into the dark ages of his father where corruption, nepotism, intimidation, land grabbing was the order of the day.

On June 1, 1964 when Kenyatta became President and successfully had Parliament amend the Constitution to make Kenya a republic with his office becoming executive President: the head of State, head of Government, and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, only later that Kenyans realized that this was his trick to control Kenya.

It is against the background that on November 10, 1964, he forced KADU to officially dissolve and its representatives joined KANU, forming a single party. Through this tactic Kenyatta was re-elected un-opposed in 1966, and the next year had the Constitution amended to expand his powers.

Through single party politics Kenyatta consolidated his power greatly, and placed several of his Kikuyu tribesmen in most of the powerful state and security offices and posts. He used state security forces to silence any politician who was suspected to be a threat to his government.

Several murders of prominent personalities such as Pio Gama Pinto, Tom Mboya, and JM Kariuki took place during his tenure. These personalities were deemed as threats to his regime.

To continue controlling Kenya through his security forces is one of the reasons why in the 1969 elections, Kenyatta banned the only other party, KPU (formed and led by his former vice president, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga who had been forced to quit KANU along with his left leaning allies), detained its leaders, and called elections in which only KANU was allowed to participate.

On January 29, 1970 he was sworn in as President for a further term. For the remainder of his presidency, Kenya was effectively a one-party state, and Kenyatta made use of detention, appeals to ethnic loyalties, and careful appointment of government jobs to maintain his commanding position in Kenya’s political system.

Through single party system Kenyatta was again re-elected as President in 1974, in elections in which he, again he ran alone. This was because no Kanu member would challenge him. On Nov 5, 1974, he was sworn in as President for a third term.

When Kenyatta died on 22, August 1978 in Mombasa of natural causes attributable to old age, Moi succeeded him and continued with similar tactic of single party system until he was forced to introduce multiparty party system in 1992 which resulted into deadly ethnic clashes to avenge the Kikuyu communities in Rift Valley.

That is why when Moi proposed that he would be succeeded by Uhuru Kenyatta in 2002 the vast majority of Kenyans were afraid that should Uhuru take over he was going to use the same tactic of his father and Moi, so for the fear now.

People for Peace in Africa (PPA)
P O Box 14877
Nairobi
00800, Westlands
Kenya

Tel +254-7350-14559/+254-722-623-578
E-mail- ppa@africaonline.co.ke
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