The Media Council of Kenya (MCK) has encouraged the Zimbabwe political class to proactively work with the media to ensure orderly conduct of the electioneering process ahead of the country’s 2023 General Election.
MCK CEO David Omwoyo told members of Zimbabwe's Senate Thematic Committee on Peace and Security who visited the Council this morning that the media plays a critical role in ensuring free, fair, credible and peaceful elections, adding that the legislators can pick some lessons from the conduct of Kenyan media in the 2022 polls.
Mr Omwoyo enumerated the various initiatives the Council put in place to ensure professional reportage of the election campaigns and actual voting, in addition to the post-polls period.
“In line with our media regulatory mandate and in preparation for the 2022 General Election, the Council spearheaded the media industry in developing and committing to the Guidelines for Election Coverage. We also developed elections reporting training manuals and trained media workers countrywide on key issues including safety and access to information among others”, Mr Omwoyo told the delegation that is in the country on a benchmarking visit to share experiences and borrow best practices in aspects of peace, security and election coverage by the media.
He added that the Council established media centres across the country to provide journalists with a conducive working environment during the elections.
“We ensured robust media monitoring during the period to ensure adherence to the Code of Conduct for the Practice of Journalism in Kenya besides putting in place mechanisms to counter misinformation which is rampant during such times”, said Mr Omwoyo.
The MCK boss added that the Council conducted several media and information literacy sessions in the country to educate citizens on responsible media consumption and debunking fake news.
“ I highly encourage Zimbabwe to pick as many lessons from Kenya given our experience in this area. A responsible media will ensure a successful civic process and ultimately promote peace and tranquility in a country”, he said.
Head of the delegation, Chairman of the Zimbabwe Senate Thematic Committee on Peace and Security Dr David Parirenyatwa applauded the Council for its efforts in working with the media towards professional coverage of elections.
“We have gathered a lot from our engagement and we will follow through to ensure that we replicate these great lessons back home as we approach our General Election”, said Dr Parirenyatwa.