REVEALED: THE FM STATIONS OWNED BY KENYAN POLITICIANS

Direct involvement by politicians in Kenya’s media is growing ahead of a crucial general election planned for 2012. Dennis Itumbi writes for journalism.co.za on the impact of restrictions on editorial independence.
The Kenyan political temperature is rising sharply ahead of the 2012 election, with candidates already declaring their ambitions to succeed President Mwai Kibaki who will step down at the end of his second five-year term. And the media are emerging as a key battleground, with political hopefuls literally jostling to buy influence through the ownership of print and broadcast outlets.
Most of the mainstream media are already in the hands of politicians. An exception is the Nation Media Group, but even here there are board members who were actively involved in campaigning in the strongly contested presidential elections of 2007.
Already, political control is visible in the coverage. Jacqueline Ooko, the President of the Journalist Association of Kenya (JAK), said: “There is no secret about it, already you know how each media house will handle a story depending on the politician involved and that is very dangerous.”
She added: “It beats the purpose of media freedom to have politicians hold the strings as if they are controlling puppets, someone needs to act and act fast.”
Normally, politicians come up with restrictive bills against the media before elections, but with the passage of a new constitution, the focus seems to be changing to ownership as a means of controlling the agenda. A survey of larger and smaller media houses clearly show the trend.
The Standard Group is owned by retired President Daniel Moi, together with a group of associated businessmen, including his former personal secretary Joshua Kulei.
Moi and his son Gideon recently merged their shares in the group and now are the largest shareholders in the group, which also runs Baraza Ltd, the owners of Kenya’s first private owned television station.
The group also runs the recently launched Swahili station known as Radio Maisha.
Meanwhile, Media Max, a group associated with Deputy Prime Minister and 2012 Presidential hopeful Uhuru Kenyatta, has taken over The People Daily of veteran politician Kenneth Matiba, K24 TV and the Kikuyu language radio station Kameme FM, both formerly owned by media entrepreneur Rose Kimotho.
The group is part of TV Africa Holdings, also owned by the Kenyatta family.
In 2007, TV Africa bought STV from renowned journalist Hilary Ng’weno and now uses the channel to transmit Al Jazeera. So Media Max now owns two TV stations – STV and K24, a vernacular radio and a daily newspaper.
Media Max is cashing in on management problems in the Standard group and has poached Paul Wanyagah, its former chief operations officer to become CEO.
Kenya Prime Minister Raila Odinga also owns an uptown FM station, Radio Umoja, which targets the youth.
A political ally of Raila who is also the Parliamentary chief whip, Jakoyo Midiwo, for his part owns Lake Victoria FM.
Water Minister Charity Ngilu, also of the Premier’s Orange Democratic Party (ODM), has also acquired Mbaitu FM, a Kamba FM station broadcasting in upper Eastern Kenya.
Royal Media services, which runs the largest number of FM stations in the country is owned by SK Macharia, a business magnate who is a close ally of President Kibaki.
Wits its large portfolio of vernacular stations, the family business has enormous influence, and has not previously shied away from showing open support for the Kibaki administration.
One of Royal Media’s stations – Inooro FM – was named in the Kriegler report as having been involved in instigating the 2007 post-election violence. It was also named in the Kenya Human Rights Commission report on the violence.
Another station named as guilty of inciting violence, Kass FM, has sold a 49 percent  stake to another Presidential hopeful, William Ruto.
Kass is owned by a businessman who is an ally of the suspended Higher Education Minister.
Religious organizations have also taken up ownership in efforts to control what goes out in the public. Protestant churches have acquired Hope FM, the Catholic Church has Waumini FM and Muslims have both Radio Rahma and Iqra Fm.
This direct involvement by politicians is causing extensive disquiet among media professionals, since it is clear they are quite happy to interfere in editorial decisionmaking.
Editors and senior reporters have quit the Standard Group, citing frustration at alleged “favouritism and tribalism in the management of the group”.
One senior editor told journalism.co.za: “The problem is that editorial independence is no longer respected, there are some irrelevant stories you have to run simply because they are by the owners, then there are some untouchable issues, sometimes before a bulletin you get a call telling you to either kill or soften an angle in a major story, professionalism has been buried.”