Members from the law society of Kenya (front left to right) Vice
chairperson Lillian Omondi, Chairman Eric Mutua, Council member Faith
Waigwa, Commissioner for oaths and notaries public Judith Sijeni, (back
left to right) upcountry council member Caroline Khasoa, council member
James Aggrey Mwamu and advocate Grace A. Okumu. Photo\Emma Nzioka
Friday, November 08, 2013
East African Community lawyers plan to meet to discuss draconian media laws being enacted in the region.
The
East Africa Law Society president, Mr James Aggrey Mwamu, said Kenya,
Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Somalia have adopted a pattern of media
suppression.
“Governments in the region are jointly
suppressing democratic freedoms by using unconstitutional laws to gag
journalists and the media,” Mr Mwamu (right) said.
He
noted that media freedom would be among the core issues to be discussed
in depth at the annual conference on November 15 and 16 at The
Whitesands Hotel in Mombasa.
The conference theme is
“Raising the Bar: The Changing Environment for the Legal Profession in
East Africa”. It will bring together lawyers in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania,
Rwanda and Burundi.
“We are dismayed that the Kenyan
Parliament last week passed into law Acts which suppress freedom of
information under Article 35 of the Constitution,” Mr Mwamu said.
The
EALS president regretted that intolerance to media freedom has also
being intensified in Tanzania with the recent suspension of two
newspapers for alleged violation of stringent media laws.
“The
Ministry of Information stopped the publication of Mwananchi newspaper
and Mtanzania, alleging violation of secrecy and sedition laws,” Mr
Mwamu said.
He also recalled how the Daily Monitor
newspaper was raided and shut down for 10 days in May after allegedly
publishing a politically sensitive story in Uganda.
“The
Daily Monitor was allowed to reopen on the promise that it would not
publish material that might disturb law and order or generate tension,”
Mr Mwamu said.
The EALS president also regretted that
journalists were also reportedly being harassed and intimidated in
Uganda when covering political stories like arrests of Mr Kizza Besigye.
“There are also concerns on violent deaths of journalists, such as that of Thomas Pere in June,” Mr Mwamu said.
He
added that Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza is about to sign into
law a media Bill recently passed by the Parliament in April.
“The
Burundi Senate passed a draft media law despite opposition from
journalists and the international community,” Mr Mwamu said.
According
to a rights lobby, Human Rights Watch, the new law (in Burundi) would
interfere with media independence by forcing journalists to disclose
sources and imposing minimum requirements for journalists’ education and
experience.
Under the proposed Bill, journalists will
be required to have at least two years of professional experience in
addition to a university degree.
In addition, the media
will be banned from covering “sensitive” issues including public
security, national defence and the economy.
Violations still carry penalties that HRW said most Burundian media outlets would not afford.