KENYAN POLITICIANS WHO OWN MEDIA STATIONS

2012 is calling and politicians are getting ready. With no exceptions, any mp with plans of been in parliament post 2012 is clearing the way for himself or herself. As with any country, Kenyans are influenced so much by the media that the media now literally thinks for Kenyans. A case example is Citizen TV which has a religious following upcountry. Anything appearing on the station is law and if you doubt it, just ask anybody and the response will be, it was on TV. Mind you TV is Citizen. A different station with a conflicting side of the story will not be given a chance to complete it without the dial been invoked. By the way, by upcountry, I meant Central Kenya.

With politicians fully understanding the power wielded by the media especially TV and radio, it is no doubt that some of them have positioned themselves strategically to utilize this avenue. The 'positioning' comes in different ways, either by acquiring established stations, creating new ones or even befriending top managers and editors in certain media houses. The 'positioning' has spared no side of the political divide. Here is a list of media stations some of our mps control.

UHURU KENYATTA :- K24, People, Kameme, STV

        Through TV Africa Holdings, the DPM acquired Matiba's People newspaper and Rose Kimotho's media max. Back in 2007, TV Africa had bought STV from veteran Hilary Ng'weno. STV airs foreign news but speculations that it can be rebranded into a local stations are rife. It is not clear the percentage ownership in K24 and Kameme, but it clear the % is enough to give him live coverage, or to even fire Luis Otieno if he fails to tow the line.

MOI'S FAMILY :- Mzee Moi and his son Gideon are the largest shareholder in Standard group,owning KTN, Standard newspaper and lately Radio Maisha. The other shareholders are Joshua Kulei and some very minor shareholders. Whoever gets Gideons favour is expected to leap the benefits but the likelyhood of Raila been the one are very minimal considering his history with the old Moi.

SK. MACHARIA :- Definitely the most recognized media owner in Kenya. He owns The Royal Media family that does not need any introduction. One TV station and over ten radio stations. All this are expected to be for Uhuru to use as the elections approach. This is guided by the open secret of SK's support for the old man Kibaki.

WILLIAM RUTO :- Surprisingly, many Kenyans are unaware that Kass fm is firmly in Ruto's arms. According to sources, Ruto's stake in the stations is said to be in the 40's %. This will definitely come in handy as we progress.

CHIRAU MWAKWERE :- Kaya fm

NAJIB BALALA :- Sheki fm

HENRY KOSGEY :- One fm

JOHN MUTUTHO :- Unconfirmed reports say that he has a stake in Countryside fm, formerly Bahasha fm .

RAILA ODINGA :- Has not invested much in the airwaves and that may cost him dearly. He however owns a not so popular Radio Umoja and Namlolwe fm.  He is however said to enjoy close contacts at the nation centre and whether that will translate to favourable print and airtime is yet to be seen.

CHARITY NGILU :- Said to own a Kamba station, Mbaitu fm. She is also said to have a stake in Syokimau fm

                         

JAKOYO MIDIWO :- Lake Victoria fm

It is widely believed that several undocumented mps own slices of other small stations or are members of the board. This influx of politicians in the media industry is alarming and may transform the Kenyan media to be for the politicians, of the politicians and by the politicians.

THE DEAFENING SILENCE THAT IS LACK OF POLITICS

Since the Ocampo six arrived from the Hague and attended their home coming bash, there has been very little politics in the country and the silence is deafening. Every week, we were all glued to our screens listening to the bickering of our politicians. Until two weeks ago, watching news was fun. Whether or not you like the uhuru and ruto alliance, you most probably loved listening to them. Now, none of them is talking and watching of news is no longer a priority for many.

Many of us cried that the media blackouts the ocampo two and I think uhuru and ruto indeed read the mood and blackouted themselves. As a result of that, news have lost taste and all I hear is the food prices. I acknowledge that the media is highlighting the plight of ordinary mwananchi, but I don't think ordinary mwananchi has been programmed to sit down and watch the 9. oclock news to the end if there is no political noise. I dont know how we got here but I know if Kenyan's continue like this, we will not end well.

Part of the reason for the obsession with politics is the media itself. Over the years they have fed us tonnes of it and miles of it in print. They would rather rush to cover a politician giving a stupid statement than cover some story that will keep Kenyans laughing the rest of the night. Citizen recently launched a series called truth meter on sunday live. The reasoning must have been that the kenyan politico class  would continue making remarks that would make it a must watch. However, watching it this sunday showed that it has failed to serve that purpose well. Throughout the week, little political statements were made and thus truth meter was giving us info that we already have.

The catchy headlines that characterized our newspapers are also gone. This has without a doubt left the media with decreased revenue. Maybe politics is indeed the driving force for many businesses and lack of it is been felt everywhere. You better watch this space because the next time there is a big political function, the media will breathe and bloggers will write.

OCAMPOSIX.COM OUT TO DERAIL JUSTICE

Ocamposix.com is a website that claims it is out to unearth the cause of Kenya's post election violence but I have reasons to believe it is a website out to defend the Ocampo six and eventually deny post elections volence any justice. Before NTV aired a feature on it, it was struggling to get 200 unique visitors a day, but now it is getting thousands and in their own words, it has gone viral.
In their 'about us' page, they have not made secret that they don't support the trials been done at the Hague. This are their own writing.

We, the friends of Kenya, being part of the global community and law abiding citizens admired the spirit of the ICC court during its formation. But we are greatly perturbed by its metamorphosis into a monster whose main objective is to concentrate on petty crimes/offences in Africa instead of focusing its energy in dealing with serious and despicable crimes and atrocities committed by the west against innocent poor defenseless citizens of the world e.g. in Afg...

 That may have a lot of truth in it, but the website brands itself as one to unearth the truth, yet they have already concluded that the truth cannot be found at the Hague. As a news website, it should stick to that and not take sides openly.
Curious is the fact that they have posted an open letter to Raila Odinga, written by one Moses Kuria and originally appeared on the star newspaper. The letter has both factual errors and deliberate ones. It paints the prime minister in the most negative image possible. At the end of the letter, there are comments and surprising is that almost all comments laud the author and brands the PM as he is stated there. On the Star newspaper website however, where the letter originally appeared, all types of comments are available,those against the open letter are however the majority. This only shows that comments contradicting the author have been deliberately deleted by the administrator of ocamposix.com.
  I embarked to find out who owns the website and I found that the administrator either used a different name or is actually someone from Israel. This is what I found on whois.net

Domain Name: ocamposix.com
Registered at http://www.dynadot.com

Registrant:
Martin Smith
78954
Tel aviv 00999
Israel

Administrative Contact:
Martin Smith
78954
Tel aviv 00999
Israel
antidavinci@yahoo.com
+235 2459875

I however strongly believe that a Kenyan owns the website and deliberately used a different name in its registration. It is also important to note that the same 'Martin Smith' has bought the domain names ocamposix.net, ocamposix.org and ocamposix.info . This may be strategic in preventing anyone with a similar idea but sincerely out to unearth the truth.

WHAT OUR MEDIA SUPPORTS: HAGUE OR LOCAL TRIBUNAL.

The Hague matter has divided the rulling class and the people alike. While it is obvious that Kenyans support the Hague trials, the leaders have tried tirelessly to impose a local tribunal on Kenyans. Opinion polls carried out on the matter will be testimony that Kenyans have started lostening to their leaders. Support for the Hague trials has been gradually decreasing since 2009, from about 80% to 60%. Political analysts say that a lie said many times becomes true. Kenyans are slowly accepting that delivering the Ocampo six is tantamount to losing our sovereignity. Critical thuinkers will ask why that was not the arguement base when we were told not to be vague and say Hague. Anyway, am writing to show you where our leading media stations' support is. It will be noted that some are openly for the Hague options while those of a contrary opinion pretend to be neutral.

                                                                  

This is one stations that has perfected the art of going with public opinion for the last several months. Listening to their news will tell you where their support is, for the Hague option. They are always quick to remind us of the views of our hypocritical members of parliament before they started supporting a local tribunal. Reporters with the station have not shied away from criticizing leaders perceived to be pro-local tribunal. A case example is Kalonzo's shuttle diplomacy efforts that were the base of one news edition. Hareth Salim, a reporter with the station demonstrated to Kenya about the VP's lack of decisiveness. It will also be seen that recently, the station gave a lot of airtime in highlighting the amount of money the VP wasted in his shuttle diplomacy. Those are just but a few examples why NTV supports the Hague option and shows it.

Just like NTV, KTN is openly for the Hague option. It shows it in their news bulletin and some of the polls, they undertake. Some of those polls, though not necessarily doctored are out to show the leaders where Kenyan support is. The station is also trying to go with public opinion regularly especially due to its lost ground in terms of viewership.

For the neutral stations, here is one. SK Macharia and citizen tv owe a lot to the Kibaki government. During the Moi regime, the station was nothing but since 2003, it has become the leading station in Kenya. It is therefore funny that the station is not a government puppet. Recently, the wikileaks showed what the American ambassador thinks of the Kenyan media. He claimed that Kenyan media is too close to the politicians and therefore sometimes fails to serve its purpose. He however pointed out that SK Macharia is one of the few independent media owners. Maybe this explains why the station tries as much as possible to give us both sides of the story and even provides polls that can go either way. Recently, they asked whether you supported the mass walk out threat been issued by the African states. Such a poll can swing on either side because honestly, I know of people who strongly support the Hague option for Kenya, but don't trust the ICC fully. They say that Kenya should pull out, but after the trial of the six.

This is the only station I've come across so open in its support for the local tribunal. Their main man Jeff Koinange has been the leading soul in this fight for the Kenyan mind. They have tried to turn around public opinion on this issue. Capital talk has been used solely for this purpose. Three sides of a coin also by Jeff Koinange is another tool used. click here to read an exclusive article on this. At first I thought it was only Jeff who was doing this until I listened to their news.