IS DR. MZALENDO KIBUNJA AND HIS NCIC IS SLEEPING ON THE JOBS AS VERNACULAR FM RADIO STATIONS POLLUTES THE AIRWAVES WITH INSULTIVE AND SUB-STANDARDS NEWS AND HATE COMMENTS
Commentary By Bob Ndira-Uradi.
The National Commission for Integrity and Cohesion {NCIC} as a matter of utmost urgency look into the possibility of assigning and posting its bilingual experts to monitor some of the politically sponsored talk shows aired to the public audiences by FM Radio Station in vernacular tribal languages.
There is ample evident that some of these FM Station have been infiltrated by political operatives and the so-called “power brokers” who are misusing them for political expediency by ways of maligning their perceived rivals either real or imagined.
The NCIC should also urgently consider posting it’s by bilingual investigators to monitor hate speeches at all important meetings including funeral gatherings, particularly inside Luo-Nyanza.
These FM Stations weld a lo of influence over their audiences, therefore it is upon the NCIC to work closely with the Media Council of Kenya {MCK} and the Communication Commission of Kenya n{CCK} and other players in the industry to ensure that they instill strictest professional values in their Radio presenters.
He team of linguistic experts which I have in mind should monitor all the political talk shows including those baptized as “breakfast talks shows, to ensure the airwaves in the country is polarized and polluted with seditious broadcasting materials that could be detrimental to peaceful co-existence of all the Kenyan communities.
Of late there appeared to be some sponsored talk shows being aired by some of the FM Stations, broadcasting in Dho-Luo vernacular which tend to be malicious and mischievous aimed at discrediting individuals. These include stage-managed talks shows in which individual questioners are tipped in advance with what they should phone the station and ask the persons being interviewed.
The region hit the hardest is Homa-Bay County where one unnamed politician is always in the air talking bull-shit and rubbish. The politician who has been heard bragging in private to be a member of the inner circle close to the ODM Prime Minister Raila Odinga has been roaming the entire County making uncoordinated speeches full of threats to candidates aspiring for the various elective positions in within the County, parliament and senate as well as County representatives.
The said politician is allegedly sending SMS text messages warning those who do not toe the line that they would not be allowed not to contest the forthcoming general election on the ODM tickets.
This are kind of leaders are the one who have been frequenting the FM Radio Stations with a lot of vitriol’s purporting to be speaking on behalf of the party. Entrepreneurs and employers who have invested millions of shillings on the se facilities should also be prevailed upon to ensure they employ better qualified Radio presenters with experience and journalistic prowess and “ Not Jua Kali” presenters.
The NCIC has the responsibility to ensure the peace prevails in the country and at the same time ensure that information which is likely to stir up chaos similar to those witnessed in this country during the 2007-2008 post election violence.
Peace must prevail all the time, especially during this year when the next general elections are around the corner. All the level minded Kenyans must ensure that anything which could be recipe to chaos is stopped at al costs.
Radio presenters must be trained to be enlightened people and be equipped with the knowledge of preventing the repeat of chaos and who understand the need for peace to prevail all the times.
The management of those stations seemed to have allowed their junior staff free hands of conducting their work while filling the air with political messages that don’t add any value to the desired peace and tranquility and promotion of good and harmonious co-existence with the community itself.
The sponsors of top shows are full of antagonistic and despising other credible leaders within the community and even discriminating a far as the political party they claim to represent is concern.
If the ODM in Nyanza and its regional leadership has the chosen ones to protect their interest, this kind of politics should not find its way to the FM Radio stations, but the leaders are free to keep their policy within themselves.
What ha been going on, is making me to believe very slowly with the contentions previously made by the retired President Daniel Arap Moi that allowing the airwaves for every Tom, Dick and Harry could be a recipe to chaos. The recent liberalization of the airwaves has brought to the surface FM Radio Stations, some of which are so irresponsible and manned by not unqualified but unpatriotic personnel hell-bent in reaping the fruits where they never sowed any seeds.
This must be stopped and curtailed with immediate effect before the worse come. By saying this I really don’t meant they should be gagged and stopped out of business, but some stringent control and responsible policy regulating the broadcasting must be in place to weed out those presenters whose lust for cheap money has made it possible for them to be manipulated by politicians, who have turned their stations as political platforms. Here is where the MCK, CCK and NICC come in. I hope Dr. Mzalendo Kibunja is not sitting on his job.
The NICC should always not forget the kind of damages caused in terms of human lives in Rwanda in 1994 and its Commissioners should not si thee only to earn fat salary from the taxpayers, but do nothing. They must work and they will be rewarded at the long last.
Ends