Journalists have been warned against writing stories that might propagate hate speech and violence ahead of the general elections, National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) has warned.
Speaking yesterday at a Nairobi hotel, NCIC officials said that teams have been set up to monitor how the media carries out elections reporting in a bid to set a peace agenda in the highly contested elections.
NCIC Secretary Hassan Mohamed said that the commission will take particular concern on unbalanced reporting which could spark violence; citing that all journalists affiliated to politicians would face the rule of law.
“The political temperatures in the country are already escalating enough and we will not condone anything that might be a threat to Kenya’s peace. The propensity for carelessness could be greater due to the large numbers of people vying for political seats,” said Mohamed.
The secretary challenged journalists not to fear going against their employers’ policies, adding that the Media Council would support in case they are reprimanded for practicing objective reporting.
Further, he urged journalists not to let themselves to be used in influencing the type and manner of coverage by politicians and other sources of news.