Media Control in Kenya: The State of Broadcasting under the New Kenya Information and Communication Act of 2013

Abstract

This paper examines the status of broadcast media in Kenya under the new information and communication law. Two objectives are used to develop the thesis of the paper; the operational status of broadcast media in Kenya over time; and the threats to media freedom by subsequent media laws and the new KICA 2013. The paper adapts a documentary review methodology in highlighting the framework of media regulation in Kenya. Online journals, books and unpublished papers as well as the Kenyan constitution are used to gather relevant literature to meet the set objectives. The paper agrees with reviewed works on the fact that media regulation in Kenya has its genesis in colonial era and the motive has since remained to curtail its freedom. The paper proposes a review of the new communications law failure to which freedom of the press which was hard earned will forever be curtailed.

Keywords: kenya, media regulation, MCK, CAK,  Constitution of Kenya