(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – On 24 July 1998, ARTICLE 19 sent the following letter to His Excellency President Daniel Arap Moi, Office of the President, Nairobi, Kenya: **For background information, see IFEX alerts 23, 17, 15 and 14 July 1998** ARTICLE 19, the International Centre Against Censorship, is greatly concerned about the recent decision of Kenyaâs […]
(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – On 24 July 1998, ARTICLE 19 sent the following letter to
His Excellency President Daniel Arap Moi, Office of the President, Nairobi,
Kenya:
**For background information, see IFEX alerts 23, 17, 15 and 14 July 1998**
ARTICLE 19, the International Centre Against Censorship, is greatly
concerned about the recent decision of Kenyaâs Registrar-General effectively
to ban four publications known for their criticism of your government,
namely “Finance”, “The Star”, “Post on Sunday” and “Kenya Confidential.”
This action constitutes a wholly unwarranted violation of press freedom. The
Kenyan Government is obliged to uphold freedom of expression both under the
Kenyan Constitution and by virtue of Kenyaâs treaty obligations as a state
party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article
19 of which guarantees freedom of expression.
We urge you to intervene immediately to rescind the bans and to ensure that
the four publications are able to circulate freely and without official
hindrance or sanction in Kenya.
According to our information, the Registrar-General, Omondi Mbago, refused
to register “Finance”, “The Star” and the “Post on Sunday” and declared that
“Kenya Confidential” was operating illegally. He reportedly stated that this
action was taken under provisions of the Books and Newspapers Act (Cap III),
but without providing further explanation. According to our understanding,
however, this provision requires only that newspapers submit technical
information in order to obtain registration and that the Registrar-General,
in fact, has no authority to refuse registration indeed, were it
otherwise, this would itself give grave cause for disquiet given the scope
that it would provide for denial of registration on politically-motivated
grounds.
In the circumstances, it appears that the Registrar-General may have
exceeded his authority. If so, it may be questioned whether he should remain
in office. In this connection, therefore, we would welcome urgent
clarification from your government on the powers available to the
Registrar-General in this matter, whether they were exceeded and, if so,
what steps the Kenyan authorities will now take to remedy the position.
We are also very concerned by reports that, following the Registrar-Generalâ
s action, police seized copies of the publications already in circulation
and detained several people, including family members and a legal
representative of one of the staff of the publications concerned. We trust
that all those concerned have now been released but urge you to order an
inquiry into these actions by the police, with a view to ensuring that any
officers found to have abused their powers or infringed human rights are
subject to disciplinary or other appropriate action.
We welcomed the measures taken in Kenya last year by the Inter-Party
Parliamentary Group to increase media freedom and hoped that they would
prevent acts of censorship such as those now taken against the four
publications named above. But the lack of progress since last yearâs
measures and the continuing delay over the publication of the report of the
Task Force on the Media, has been a cause for growing dismay, which has now
been greatly heightened by the banning of the four publications.
Finally, therefore, we would appreciate clarification from the government as
to when the report of the Task Force on the Media will be published.
A free, diverse and lively press – I hope you will agree – is an essential
component of any democracy and can make a vital contribution to Kenyaâs
development and the strengthening of its democratic fabric, not least in
relation to the current constitutional reform process. Actions such as the
recent bannings, if they are not quickly remedied, can only have a
“chilling” effect on the media and society at large, and are harmful both to
the public interest in Kenya and to your countryâs international standing.
Frances DâSouza
Executive Director