Kindiki asks media houses to increase journalists pay
By Mercy SimiyuInterior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki has celebrated journalists on World Press Freedom Day and urged employees to increase their pay.
Mr Kindiki has further committed to collaborate with media stakeholders to pinpoint the sources of fake news.
The CS said he has recognized the detrimental effects of fake news on society and expressed his willingness to work closely with media players to address the issue.
“We will work with all media players to ensure the current media space is not only protected but also expanded systematically inorder to eliminate opequeness in the security sector that more often than not leads to misinformation and speculation,” Said CS Kindiki.
The Cabinet Secretary further acknowledged that journalism faces multiple challenges, one of which is poor pay saying the danger of journalists receiving insufficient wages is that it can lead to low-quality reporting, and this, in turn, can give rise to sensationalism and fake news.
“Allow me to speak on behalf on behalf of journalists around the world who speak on our issue’s daily but even lack basic human provisions because of poor pay and uncaring media actors who find this normal. It is pretentious to expect an independent media and unbiased information from the reporters when Journalists go for months without pay and others can not sustain themselves. Today is my day to call for the review of the payment terms of journalists in our country,” he observed.
President Ruto’s government has faced criticism over its commitment to uphold media freedom.
This was evident in the Shakahola massacre coverage, where journalists were prevented from reporting on the event.
And during the Azimio protests, police officers physically assaulted journalists who were covering the event.
Despite these incidents, no one has been held accountable for these violations of media freedom.
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