Freedom of the press yet to be fully embraced

World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in December 1993, following the recommendation of UNESCO‘s General Conference. Since then, 3 May, the anniversary of the Declaration of Windhoek is celebrated worldwide as World Press Freedom Day.

This day is meant to;

1. celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom,
2. assess the state of press freedom throughout the world,
3. defend the media from attacks on their independence,
4. discuss solutions for addressing challenges that journalists face,
5. and pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

This year’s (2018) Theme is Keeping Power in Check: Media, Justice and The Rule of Law.

Some of the challenges that journalists and media face include;

-Their rights on freedom of expression according to article 33 of the constitution are infringed by quacks.

-99% of journalists are not aware of their rights of freedom to access of information. Article 33(1) of the constitution states that every person has a right to freedom of expression of which some of the journalists don’t have a know how.

-Journalists have a big challenge when it comes to gathering and reporting news due to the threats they receive from people who want to compromise them and they may end up giving false information. Even if this happens few journalists report to the police the threats they receive, given that a large number of them don’t know the importance of doing so. Therefore journalists are required to report any form of threat as there is no minor threat.

-Reporters find it difficult to consistently report the truth because sometimes when they write or take their well-sourced stories to the editors, they are dispelled without reason and aren’t aired or published.

According to the constitution of Kenya, Article 34 (1)  Freedom and independence of electronic, print and all other types of media is guaranteed, but does not extend to any expression specified in Article 33 (2) and in  Article 34 (2) The State shall not–

(a) exercise control over or interfere with any person engaged in broadcasting, the production or circulation of any publication or the dissemination of information by any medium; or
(b) penalize any person for any opinion or view or the content of any broadcast, publication or dissemination.

Article 34 (2) has ever been infringed by the government severally whereby stations are shut down if the content that is aired does not please those in power  or perhaps goes against the constitution thus Media Freedom is not realized.

Even if World Press Freedom Day has been celebrated for the last 25 years there is still a long way to go for it to be realized and felt.