Silent Demonstration on Wednesday August 15
Tuesday, August 14th, 2007 at 3:02 PM
Journalists will hold a silent demonstration on the streets of Nairobi tomorrow – Wednesday 15th August to protest the controversial Media Bill. Civil Society will also demonstrate in solidarity with the media fraternity. All Kenyans are invited and urged to come and show their support.
The following are the details from the Inter-media committee:
The Silent Demo is on!
The Silent Demonstration will take place on Wednesday August 15, with the blessings and the support from the majority of media houses and associations as well as myriads of well wishers.
We shall assemble 8:30am at Freedom Corner at Uhuru Park. We will then march to the AG’s Chambers (via Kenyatta Ave- Moi Ave- Harambee Ave) where we will present a petition to the chief legal adviser to the Government and ask him to advise the President against signing the proposed law.
We shall then proceed to march around Parliament two times before breaking the demo at Freedom corner. The whole programme should take about two hours maximum.
The demo is silent for there will be no chanting nor singing.
We will actually be quiet through out the march and our mouths gagged with black cloth or duct tape. We can also adorn black scarves, head bands or arm bands.
So please bring along a gag, dress in your organisation’s branded wear [if available], AND remember to put on some comfortable walking shoes.
We are looking forward to your participation and your organisation’s support as we SILENCE this bad law.
NB: Watch out for a spectacular media showing on that day.
Standing as one,
Inter-media committee
Forwarded by Mars Group Kenya
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Entry Filed under: Human Rights, Kenya, Media, Politics
1 Comment Add your own
1. Patrick Gathara | August 14th, 2007 at 4:48 pm
The mainstream media is itself far from blameless in this affair.
On Monday, July 30, the Standard reported on a deal struck by the Government and “media stakeholders”, including the Media Owner’s Association, to amend the clause defining who is a journalist. The original definition in Kagwe’s bill reads: “‘journalist’ means any person who earns a living from the practice of journalism, or any person who habitually engages in the practice of journalism and is recognized as such by the Council”. According to the Standard, the “media stakeholders” would like to replace this definition with one that includes the provision that a journalist is one who “holds a diploma or degree in mass communication from a recognised institution of higher learning and is recognised by the council as such”.
By this definition, the late Wahome Mutahi and Mohammed Amin would not be considered journalists since neither actually studied mass communication. GADO, MADD and almost the entire gamut of Kenyan cartoonists would also be excluded on a similar pretext as would many newspaper correspondents countrywide.
I hope the Silent Marchers will also be protesting this deal cut by their bosses.
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