SECTOR 1

Future development towards constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression
including freedom of the media should take cognizance of relevant regional and
international benchmarks.

Scores:
Individual scores:
1

Country does not meet indicator

2

Country minimally meets aspects of the indicator.

3

Country meets many aspects of indicator but
progress may be too recent to judge.

4

Country meets most aspects of indicator.

5

Country meets all aspects of the indicator and has
been doing so over time.

Average score: 			

2.8 (2005=1.8; 2007=2.2)

1.2
The right to freedom of expression is practised
and citizens, including journalists, are asserting their
rights without fear.
Analysis
There is visible expanding freedom space, with less
government controls. With the Coalition Government,
ministerial directives and pronouncements are often
contradictory and they are at times influenced by different
party interests. This often leads to confusion in the media
as to which is the proper official position on given issues. In
this connection it should be noted that even the politicians
“are now telling off their bosses,” including the President
and the Prime Minister.

...even the
politicians “are
now telling off
their bosses” ...

Freedom of expression is largely practiced by individual journalists and citizens
with the former voicing the latter’s concerns. However, it is noted that both
operate with fear.
While journalists attempt to practice freedom of expression, they are limited by
professional hazards, official threats and media controllers’ interests that lead to
self-censorship by the media house gatekeepers. Therefore, while media space is

AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER KENYA 2009

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