Kenyan Media Freedom Under Attack: Analysis of Media Work in Kenya Using Maatic Theory of Communication

Abstract

The ability of news media to criticize, show the excesses of the Executive arm of the government is central to media freedom and a sign of strong democratization. The existing bickering between the state officers and the media while the law provides the framework of how the state officers and the media operate is an indicator of a professional laps that denies the public credible service that they must get from the state officers and the media. In this article I analyze media freedom in Kenya using Maatic approach of communication. Maatic theory of communication provides principles of telling accurate, balanced and truthful story. In the preview of Kenyan Constitution and media freedom, the article discusses the available law guiding the role of service providers; and the ethics that state officers and media professionals must embrace. It further analyses the atrocities of the state officers to the journalists in Kenya; the excesses of the media when they cover the activities conducted by either state officers or members of the opposition. This paper analyzes the role of media in a democracy and also offers a comparison of media work in the selected authoritarian governments in Africa. Hence, using Maatic lens and available empirical findings, this article observes that there is no media freedom in Kenya. The way Kenyan state officers treat media is like what it is in authoritarian governments. This notwithstanding, it is observed that the journalists also lack professional mastery of the art. The article concludes with way forward/recommendations.

Key words: Maat concepts, political space, media freedom, media role, state officers

DOI: 10.7176/NMMC/106-07

Data of Publication: May 30^th 2024