Is Kenya Becoming Deadly Territory For Journalists?

Who murdered foreign journalist Trent Keegan in Nairobi?

For a long time now keen observers of the Kenyan press have been asking the rather nagging question of whatever happened to our once free and vibrant press?

Why is it that too many stories that should receive prominence are quietly being swept under the carpet? Is the press under threat and if so by whom?

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Interestingly many practicing journalists in Kenya will also tell you fascinating tales about stories they wrote that never saw the light of day for one puzzling reason or another. One journalist I know lost his job because he refused to compromise on his journalistic ethics since his superiors wanted a prominent news source to approve all articles he did for a leading daily in Kenya. Those articles touched on security issues.

Sadly many people ignore a very simple fact that should be a telling pointer to anybody who seeks answers. That fact is that the Kibaki administration has brought numerous bills to parliament seeking to control the press in one way or another. In fact the Kibaki government 2002 to 2007 crafted more press bills than all the other previous administrations put together. Amazingly you can even take the total number of bills crafted before the said Kibaki administration and multiply that figure threefold and you will still be short of the number of press bills Kenya saw under Kibaki. Phew!!!

And to further deal with this “annoying animal” called the press, historians will one day note that it was under Kibaki that the government created for the first time in history, the post of government spokesman I Kenya and filled it with a man whom I will not say much about. But Dr Alfred Mutua, many agree, is a disgrace to the dignified and respected Public Relations profession.

But even more disturbing is that there is now emerging signs that Kenya may in fact be a very dangerous place to practice journalism in. Local newspapers have been fairly quiet about the murder of a Reuters journalist in Nairobi last week, when in fact this should have been the sort of news to have created screaming headlines.

Last Tuesday night (27^th May) friends of Trent Keegan parted with him at a popular bar in Nairobi and the last they heard of him, was as he was complaining loudly to a taxi driver that the fare into the city centre was too steep. Days later his dead body was retrieved from a trench with his wallet still $62 inside intact. He had visible head injuries. Later friends said that his laptop and camera were missing.

Already the commonwealth press Union are complaining that the Kenyan government is not doing enough to ensure that the killer or killers of the New Zealand-born photojournalist are brought to book.

Kenyans who hear that complaint will only sympathize with the family of the departed scribe who at the time of his death was only 33 years old. They will also feel great pity because they know only too well that it would take a huge miracle for the killers of the journalist to be brought to book.

In fact promises to catch murderers (which is what the government will most probably give to the commonwealth press union) mean nothing when it comes to assassinations in Kenya. Retired president Moi himself solemnly told Kenyans that “no stone would be left unturned” in finding the killers of the late Kenyan foreign affairs Minister Dr Robert Ouko. To date that promise remains just that—an empty promise that has yet to be fulfilled. Instead Scotland Yard sleuth Retired Superintend John Troon barely escaped these shores with his life when he came a little too close to finding the truth about that murder. He was the lucky one. A long list of other ordinary Kenyans connected to that murder met mysterious and untimely deaths.

Chances are extremely high that the late Mr Keegan came across some information that somebody did not want to see published in the International press. In Kenya more often than not this tends to happen when the people involved are very powerful and wealth individuals (those two go closely together in Kenya). So how do you expect the Kenya police to get anywhere with such an investigation?

It is very important that as many Kenyans as possible address the question as to the possible motives of Mr Keegan’s untimely death because therein lies many answers and some of them may give key pointers as to why the press in Kenya has changed so much in recent times. This blogger as always is actively pursuing leads. Keep your eyes focused on this space over the next few days.

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