Commentary By Arrum Tidi Ogonglo.

The time is ripe when the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting through the Communications Council of Kenya {CCK} which is regulating media houses and broadcasting station to monitor all the programs aired for public consumption by the numerous vernacular radio stations.

This is the easiest way of avoiding those stations whose programs could be recipe to chaos similar to those of 2007-2008 post election violence.

Kenyans do not want to see a situation in which some of our broadcasters would fall prey to the ICC.

Eng Philip Okundi, the chairman of the CCK and his team must pull his sacks up and ensure that the vernacular FM Radio Station are not m98used by way of airing provocative programs.

It has been established without any doubt that some of the FM< Radio stations broadcasting in their programs in Dho-Luo vernacular are being used as political platform in Luo-Nyanza in veiled vilification of their perceived competitors or rivals.

So they say, ”prevention if better the cure ”Kenyans should not wait an see the air in this country being polluted and polarized by individuals seeking political offices through short-cut and the expenses of their opponents.

Listening to some of the vernacular FM Radio Stations especially those broadcasting in Dho-Luo, one could easily get convinced that some of the politicians are believed to be bribing their way to these FM Stations via unscrupulous and corruptible staff who allegedly being paid handsomely to facilitate the talk shows or interviews.

Radio Ramogi, which is arguably one the most powerful with the largest listeners country-wide is leading the pack among the stations currently being misused by politicians. The station programmes is particularly allocating more times for and air-waves as a political Radio station.

Some of those regularly interviewed have been heard airing their views through this station even as many times as five times within a week.

The practices has made their views look rather monotonous and so notorious that some people have resorted to switching off their radio sets, once such persons come into the air.They talks about nothing else, but applied politics in Luo-Nyanza making some of us to believed that the station is up for something sinister.

It is imperative that the owners and senior management o this station be reminded of what has since befallen Kass FM Station whose head of programmes Joshua Sang is currently facing criminal charges at the ICC on suspicion that he had committed the offence related to crimes against humanity.

The Kass FM station predicament should serve as deterrent warning against the erratic and corruptive operators of the various vernacular stations. They must not use such station for personal egos and vilification of innocent people either directly or indirectly. The operators of these stations must be made to understand that such excesses could be subjected to curtailment because the freedom of the press which is enshrined within our constitutions is not immune. If deemed to be not furthering mutual cohesion and peaceful co-existence of Kenyans such freedom could be curtailed.

The CCK, which is the regulator of all sort of communications and broadcasting, appeared to be sleeping on its job. This institution must work in consultation with the proprietor of the FM Radio Station broadcasting tribal languages and give them some direction on how to go about their work and ensure that programmes aired are good enough for the promotion of cohesion of all Kenyans.

Candidates aspiring for elective positions in various arts of Nyanza are using the radio stations for not constructive engagement, but destructive engagement vilifying their opponent indirectly.

One woman aspirant is always in the air commenting on various political issues in the region, and yet this particular lady has no elective position, but using the station for insulting or discrediting other leaders. It is time this is stop forthwith.

Alternatively all the programmes containing political views on contentious issues must be sufficiently translated to a language, which is understood by all including top managers and proprietors of these FM Radio Stations before such programs are put to the air for the public consumption.

The proprietors of these FM Stations must strictly adhere to the doctrines and principle of journalism that is to inform educate and entertain. What the people of Nyanza region and those understand Dho-Luo language contain nothing, but malice.

Those Kenyan entrepreneurs who have sacrificed their pockets and invested millions of shillings into the FM Radio Station must insist they are put into the picture of what kind of programs their junior employees are involved. They at the same time must employ qualified workers and not ”Jua Kali”

The liberalization of the airwaves is not the certificate for mischievous. Programs coming out of some of the vernacular station broadcasting in ho-Luo are not even anything worth being put into the air for public consumption. Those sponsoring the talk shows whoever they are in most cases are semi-illiterates and engaged in discussion of some of the issues they are not conversant with. Some of the issues are so trivial and fall sort of intellectual debates over the air.

Ends