(IPI/IFEX) – According to sources, in February 1998, the Nation Printers and Publishers Limited, through its subsidiary, African Broadcasting Limited, purchased a majority stake in the East African Television Network (EATN), a company holding licenses to broadcast on television and radio, from its director, Sam Shollei. Shollei is also owner of 100 per cent of […]
(IPI/IFEX) – According to sources, in February 1998, the Nation Printers and
Publishers Limited, through its subsidiary, African Broadcasting Limited,
purchased a majority stake in the East African Television Network (EATN), a
company holding licenses to broadcast on television and radio, from its
director, Sam Shollei. Shollei is also owner of 100 per cent of the shares.
In response to this, the government, which appears to have been surprised by
this transaction, has sought, through powerful third parties, to deny that
Shollei was the legal owner of EATN and thus entitled to negotiate with the
Nation Group. Ahmed Jibril, Shollei’s erstwhile co-director, who himself at
one time owned half of the EATN shares, claimed in March that he had never
sold his shares to Shollei, who owned the other half of EATN, and that the
company was not for sale. The Nation Group countered Jibril’s statements by
publishing a letter written by him in January in which he had announced his
resignation as director of EATN and relinquished his shares of the company.
Due to this dispute over the ownership of EATN, Joe Nyagah, the Minister of
Information, withdrew the company’s television and radio licenses–even
before the High Court had had a chance to hear the case. According to the
International Press Institute (IPI), it would appear that the authorities do
not welcome the possibility that the Nation Group–which pursues an
independent editorial policy and whose publications have previously exposed
numerous cases of government corruption–could gain a foothold in the
broadcasting sector. Among other publications, The Nation Group publishes
the English-language “Daily Nation”, the “Sunday Nation” and “The East
African”. Though the group has previously tried to enter the field of
broadcasting, either on its own or through joint ventures, it has been
frustrated by the delaying tactics of the authorities. Despite the fact
that, over the past seven years, The Nation Group’s applications to the
Ministry of Information for broadcasting licenses have been ignored, many
other licenses–six in the last year alone–have been granted since 1991.
Even given the creation of private broadcasting after the introduction of
multi-party politics in 1992, Kenya’s airwaves remain tightly controlled by
the government. The Kenyan Broadcasting Corporation, the country’s state
broadcaster, which consists of both TV and radio stations, is frequently
criticized for being unabashedly pro-government. Similarly, most of the
“private” television and radio stations, with the exception of the recently
launched BBC FM-relay station (which is limited to Nairobi), are linked
either directly or indirectly to the ruling party, the Kenyan African
National Union (KANU).
Recommended Action
Send appeals to authorities:
prior
to last year’s general election to endorse press freedom
Kenyan courts to deal with the case as a commercial dispute between business
parties
Appeals To
His Excellency Daniel arap Moi
President of the Republic of Kenya
Harambee House
Nairobi
Kenya
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
