Journalists must deny divisive leaders platform to spew their vitriol

The Media Council of Kenya’s 2025 Code of Conduct for Media Practice speaks of ‘safeguarding the public interest by balancing press freedom with responsibility, preventing sensationalism, promoting national values and good governance and fostering public trust in the media.

The code further goes to call for the need for responsible coverage  that discourages the glorification of conflict, crime and violence.

As the country grapples with the growing problem of politically instigated violence and ‘goonism’, while all of us have a role to play, the media has the biggest responsibility.

It cannot be overstated that the media have done so much for our democracy. They kept successive governments in check, asked the right questions, unearthed what would have otherwise remained hidden and ensured the public was kept in the know on matters affecting them.

The media’s power, however, goes beyond reporting. It lies in agenda setting. Every day, it decides what gets attention, what becomes national conversation and most importantly, what ‘dies.’

We do not expect the media to coddle the public and protect it from offensive, disturbing or even uncomfortable news. Sometimes, the public needs to see and hear things it does not like.

But the media, through editorial judgment, can decide who gets the coveted mic, what gets space in the dailies and whether a particular voice adds any value to the nation’s wellbeing.

Last week, the nation was served with a very dishonourable spectacle by panelists on a live morning show in an exchange that descended into threats of assault.

I would imagine the instinctive editorial action would have been to stop the exchange and cut short the show altogether.

 Allowing such an exchange to continue, in my view, is to provide the stage, the audience and the amplification of something that should have died a very abrupt death.

This is where the media must exercise their gatekeeping role. Not every politician or leader deserves the coveted platform. Granted controversy sells.

Outrage generates ratings but there must be a point where public interest becomes more important than numbers. At the end of the day, we need a country to celebrate our exploits in.

If someone repeatedly uses media platforms to incite, insult, provoke or manufacture conflict, editors need to consider why they must have them in their shows.

There are already enough platforms available for politicians in the form of rallies, town halls, press conferences, social media, and even Parliament.

The media does not need to become yet another platform for spreading strife.

This resolution can go beyond the media.

We need to reclaim our public spaces from political theatre. Churches should remain places of worship where people gather for a moment with God.

 A funeral, especially that of an ordinary citizen, should be about the deceased and the grieving family.

School functions such as prize giving should be about celebrating children and their achievements.

What are we teaching children when adults invited to celebrate them instead use the occasion for unwholesome political talk?

By all means, this is not a call for censorship. It is a call for responsibility. Freedom of expression does not come with automatic rights to the microphone. The media have the prerogative to decide what to amplify and what to silence and in doing so, slowly wean society from what is worryingly becoming politically acceptable. Journalism was once considered a noble profession. It must, at all times, live to that standard.

When all is said and done, we only have one country, Kenya. When Kenya burns, we all burn.

The media, religious leaders, institutions, citizens and politicians alike have a duty to decide what behaviour we accommodate, normalise and reward. Ultimately, by virtue of the nature of its work, the buck stops with the media.

If we agree that violence and incitement have no place in our politics, let us also collectively agree to deplatform all those who continue to threaten the country’s well-being through reckless talk.

Sometimes, the most responsible thing the media can do is simply refuse to amplify what does not serve the country.

Ms Wekesa is a development communication specialist