Changes came after some MPs left

PHOTO | FILE The National Assembly in session.  NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary
The bulk of the material on the Order Paper were amendments to the Bill considered crucial to the working of the media in Kenya, which are among the most unrestrained in the region.
Among the contentious areas was the method through which complaints concerning media reporting would be handled.

 By JOHN NGIRACHU
More by this Author
MPs usually leave the chamber after the Statement Hour, which Speaker Justin Muturi Thursday referred to as Exhibition Hour, which usually marks the start of the real work for MPs— the making of laws.

As they did so last evening, their colleagues who had had a better look at the Order Paper remained behind to look at the Kenya Information and Communications (Amendment) Bill.

AMENDMENTS TO BILL

The bulk of the material on the Order Paper were amendments to the Bill considered crucial to the working of the media in Kenya, which are among the most unrestrained in the region.

By far, the most significant amendment on the Order Paper was the creation of the Communications and Multimedia Appeals Tribunal.

The arrival of the Bill at the Third Reading marked the end of a long process that began with the enactment of the Constitution in 2010, where there was requirement for the enactment of laws on media freedom within three years of the Supreme Law.

The other is the Media Council Bill, which is awaiting the Second Reading, where MPs will give their opinion and talk of the possible amendments at later stages.

Last August, the Majority in the House lobbied their counterparts in the opposition to support an extension of the deadline by four months, which is allowed in the Constitution.

This was to make time for interested parties to meet the committee, make written and oral submissions on the proposed law, and suggest areas they felt would be worth changing.

The committee met representatives from Safaricom, the Communications Commission of Kenya, the Editors’ Guild  and the Media Owners Association, among others.

Among the contentious areas was the method through which complaints concerning media reporting would be handled.

The committee later said they would create an institution autonomous from the Media Council and the Communications Authority, which would handle the matters more effectively.

But the interested parties had not expected the creation of a tribunal with the powers to order fines of up to Sh1 million for individuals, Sh20 million for media houses and the deregistration of journalists.

These fines would be debts and the tribunal would have the power to make any orders to put into effect the decisions they make. The KICA Bill is now on its way to State House.