Citizen Watchdog Report Nov December 2012 (3)

CITIZEN
WATCHDOG
REPORT
01 NOVEMBER – 31 DECEMBER 2012
EDNA IPALEI

© Internews 2013
01 NOVEMBER – 31 DECEMBER 2012
CITIZEN
WATCHDOG REPORT

IV
CITIZEN WATCHDOG REPORT 01 NOVEMBER – 31 DECEMBER 2012
Contents
Introduction and Methodology......................................................................4
I - Findings on gender balance....................................................................12
II - Findings on issues covered and fairness...............................................15
III - Findings on dangerous speech.............................................................22
IV - Citizen Watchdogs views on controversial programs...........................29
Conclusions and recommendations.............................................................31
Appendix 1: Questionnaire / Code Sheet....................................................32
Appendix 2: Focus Group Discussion Report..............................................37

1
List of Abbreviations and Acronyms
CORD Coalition for Reforms and Democracy
CW P Citizens Watchdog project
FFM Free and Fair Media
MCK Media Council of Kenya
NCIC National Cohesion and Integration Commission
DPPO Deputy Provincial Police Officer
KCPE Kenya Certificate of Primary Education
ODM Orange Democratic Movement
UDF United Democratic Forum
ODK Open Data Kit
PEV Post Election Violence
URP United Republican Party
TNA The National Alliance Party
WDM Wiper Democratic Movement
PNU Party of National Unity
NCI Act National Cohesion and Integration Act
IDP Internally Displaced Persons
KBC Kenya Broadcasting Corporation
FGD Focus Group Discussion
KNC Kenya National Congress

2
The election focused Free and Fair Media (FFM) program of Internews in
Kenya launched its Citizen Watchdog (CW) project in November 2012 in
Nairobi. The Citizen Watchdog project aims to monitor a select group of
radio stations to assess their coverage of the March 4 2013 General Election
and events leading to the elections. A group of 50 young Kenyan citizens
are monitoring dangerous speech in the media and supporting the role of
the media in promoting peace and mitigating conflict. Monitors specifically
look at different media topics covered on 5 radio stations, including gender,
dangerous speech, issue based coverage, fairness and balance.
The Citizen Watchdog monitoring project was necessitated by the content
treatment of some Kenyan media outlets – particularly vernacular radio sta-
tions – during the disputed 2007 General Election when electoral violence
claimed more than 1,300 lives and left over 600,000 people displaced. The
media stands accused of having fuelled communal animosity through hate
speech.
The main objective of the CW project is to: monitor specific media outlets
with a view to evaluate the output content with regard to dangerous speech,
and any content that may be in breach of the Kenyan Constitution 2010 and
The National Cohesion and Integration (NCI) Act 2008. The project team also
listens to and evaluates citizens’ responses to specified media broadcasts
and gathers information about citizen attitudes, perceptions and opinions
on media content.
This report documents the findings of media monitors in the period 1st
November - 31st
December 2012. All cases of reported speech were inde-
pendently verified. A total of 2,898 news stories and political talk shows were
monitored in two months: 1,684 in November and 1,198 in December 2012.
The study indicates an increase in issue based coverage in the month of
December 2012, compared to November 2012, when most of the issues
were inadequately covered. In terms of issues covered in December, cam-
paign rallies were tops, followed by security. The findings show a decline
in the coverage of the following issues in the month of December 2012:
security, the constitution, education, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and
employment.
In reference to the geographical scope of the content, radio stations uni-
formly focused on national coverage (over 80% of the content). Regional,
local and international news registered 15%, 2%, and 1% respectively – a
clear indication that radio stations focus primarily on national news and do
not find interest in international affairs.
Executive Summary

3
The survey reveals that men’s’ voices were dominant in most of the pro-
grams monitored both as presenters/journalists and as sources of informa-
tion.
Most importantly, analysis of the content of programs monitored shows that
there were very few cases of dangerous speech in the monitored radio sta-
tions in November and December 2012. There were 20 cases of dangerous
speech in November (out of 1,684 stories and political talk shows monitored)
and only 7 cases in December (out of 1,198 stories and political talk shows
monitored).
The study further reveals that most of the dangerous speech in radio is
perpetrated unknowingly by callers with little or no concept of hate speech
or dangerous speech. However, the survey establishes that radio stations
strive to control dangerous speech by cutting off callers, screening and also
pre-recording calls. In some instances, radio presenters forewarn callers not
to use such speech at the beginning of each program.
The study further reveals that only very few reporters appear to be biased in
their political coverage. Political improved from 98% in November 2012 to
99% in December 2012.
Narrowing down on the coverage of political parties, coalitions, alliances,
and other marriages political, the survey discovered that in the month of
November, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), The National Alliance
(TNA), United Republican Party (URP), took precedence in that order, while
in December newly formed coalitions Jubilee Alliance and Coalition for
Reforms and Democracy (CORD) got the most coverage. Political cam-
paigns and rallies were the most popular source of coverage. Of the alli-
ances, the Jubilee Alliance received the most coverage, while the ODM party
got most coverage among the political parties.
Emerging from the interviews with the monitors was the need to train pre-
senters and moderators on interviewing skills. It is clear that audiences
demand that presenters and other radio program hosts are well informed on
the political discourse. They need not only to read widely but to enrich their
work with research.
The survey also found out that there is little public awareness of hate speech
and its consequences. The general public has hardly benefitted from civic
education processes. This calls for concerted efforts by both state and non-
state actors to intensify civic education initiatives.

4
Internews in Kenya’s Free and Fair Media program (2011-2013) supported
a group of media institutions and mainstream media outlets to report fairly
and responsibly on the 2013 General Election process and to play a positive
role in electoral information dissemination. The program has four objec-
tives: to train journalists to professionally report on the electoral process,
using conflict-sensitive approaches; to identify and avoid hate speech; to
effectively use polling data; and to mitigate conflict of interest arising from
political ownership of media houses.
Journalists and local media were identified as a source of misinformation
and hate messaging in the run up to the 2007 election, which ended in
bloodshed and political instability. The media was either not prepared or
did not have the capacity to ensure responsible coverage of the highly dis-
puted election; in some cases the political ownership of outlets resulted in
manipulated content.
The Free and Fair Media (FFM) program seeks to promote a journalism
culture that supports democratic and responsible elections. It also strives
to enhance journalism that is responsive to the voters’ needs and expecta-
tions. The FFM program acknowledges that journalists have a duty to inform
but must carry out that duty responsibly, more so when covering elections.
In order to identify and mitigate hate speech in the media – particularly in
radio stations, Internews designed a “Citizen Watchdog” activity, launched
in November 2012, that directly involves young citizens in monitoring the
media and supporting the role of media in promoting peace and mitigating
conflict. Five groups comprising 10 citizens each were chosen to partici-
pate through an interactive screening process in order to establish listener
groups. The groups received training on content monitoring. They were
taught to flag dangerous speech, to assess interaction on live call in shows,
and to listen for certain key terms and phrases.
At the end of each month, Citizen Watchdogs Coordinator Edna Ipalei meets
with the groups, debriefs what they heard, and puts together a summary
of the content they monitored. This report is the summary of the Citizen
Watchdogs findings for the months of November and December 2012. The
results will be shared with the relevant media outlets. The information will
also aid Internews trainers in refining curriculum development.
1) Radio stations and programs monitored
The 5 Citizen Watchdogs groups were asked to monitor 5 radio stations:
- KBC Idhaa ya Taifa (public, using Kiswahili)
Introduction and Methodology

5
- Kass FM (private, using Kalenjin language)
- Ramogi FM (private, using Dholuo language)
- Kameme FM (private, using Kikuyu language)
- Radio Salaam (private, using Kiswahili)
These outlets were selected 1) on the basis of reach, listenership, popular-
ity and access by different ethnic groups; 2) because they demonstrated a
potential to act as incendiary agents for ethnic animosity at the height of the
2007/08 post election violence; 3) because of vested interest- ownership.
According to data released in December 2011 by the research com-
pany Ipsos Synovate and conducted under the Kenya Audience Research
Foundation (KARF), top radio broadcasting languages based on time spent
listening are: Dholuo (28%), Kiswahili (26%), Kikuyu (25%), and Kalenjin
(24.8%) – based on stations that receive more than three hours a day of
core listeners.1
As mentioned above, each radio station was assigned 10 monitors. The 50
monitors who participated in the survey were selected based on their mas-
tery of their respective vernacular languages. Another key requirement was
that watchdogs be youthful – they are all aged between 21 and 35 years.
Monitors were asked to monitor the news bulletins and political talk shows
of their target stations. Prime-time news bulletins (7.00am, 10.00am, 7.00pm
and 9.00pm) and prime-time talk-shows were monitored. Although the CWC
project’s main objective is to monitor dangerous speech in the media, it also
teases out the general performance of the media including the following:
gender balance, fairness, accuracy, balance and issue based coverage.
Each citizen monitor is asked to fill out a media monitoring questionnaire
on a daily basis. This questionnaire includes the following:
B1. Name of the Monitor
B2. Radio Station
B3. Date the story was aired
B4. Time of day
B5. Name of the program
B6. Presenter Gender
B7. Geographical Scope
B8. Main Issues Discussed
B11. Gender Presence in the Discussion
B12. Sources Identification
B13. Opportunity to Comment
B14. Comment Fact
B15. Is the presenter able to counter offensive callers?
B16. Is the reporter politically biased?
B17. Is there Hate Speech in the program?
1 KARF-Audience Research Q1 2011, Synovate 2011

6
B18. Hate Speech Details
B19. Was the Topic comprehensively discussed?
B20. Who are the experts present in the discussion?
B21. Political Party in the program/Politician
B22. Leaders Quoted in the program
B23. Profile Percentage coverage
B24. Tonality
B25. Topic of discussion
B26. Kind of event the party /politician is covered in.
The full questionnaire / code sheet can be found at Appendix 1.
2) Innovative data collection
The questionnaire is filled out and submitted daily using a smart phone and
a smart phone application: Open Data Kit (ODK). ODK is an open source
tool; which helps the user author and manage mobile data collection2
. ODK
software provides a solution for users to:
- Build a data collection form or survey form which is then installed into
the smart phone.
- Collect data by filling out the ODK collect form installed on a mobile
device. The form is then saved and sent to a server; and
- Accumulate the collected data onto a server and extract it in useful
formats.
The tools of operation include Google Play, the Open Data Kit, a Server and
a mobile phone. ODK facilitates the communication between the server and
the monitor. It eases data collection and aggregation.
How does it operate? First, Internews set up a code sheet. Second, the ODK
application was built into the server which facilitates the collection of Data.
Third, monitors downloaded the ODK application from Google Play and
installed it onto their phones. The monitors were then able to download the
survey form from the server, fill it out and submit it through the ODK.
Data was analysed using Excel and SPSS 20.0 to reflect: radio station,
scope of coverage, geographical area, hate speech, gender presence, pro-
grams, issues covered, presenter gender.
2 http://opendatakit.org/

7
Figure 1: Understanding Open Data Kit (ODK)
Figure 2: Sample ODK aggregate form
Collected Data Screen Shot

8
3) Qualitative tools
The Citizen Watchdog Coordinator employed qualitative data collection
methods to verify and deepen the quantitative findings - face to face inter-
views and focus group discussions.
The individual interviews with keen listeners of the select radio stations
were conducted on the basis of semi-structured interview guidelines. They
were recorded, transcribed and summarized. This method of data collec-
tion was important in evaluating the citizens’ response to specified media
broadcast, especially the political talk shows and news content. Focus
Group Discussions (FGDs) were designed to establish citizen’s attitudes,
perceptions and opinions on media content and conduct. Five FGDs were
carried out by the Citizen Watchdogs from 3-7 December 2012. The two
hour long discussions were conducted in English. The Citizen Watchdog
Coordinator had developed an English Language Discussion Guide with
a set of questions that addressed the research objectives. The questions
were then reviewed by the moderator for conformity with focus group set-
tings and dynamics. At the end of each FGD, interviewees gave recom-
mendations for the effective and successful execution of the project.
4) Definition of hate speech and dangerous speech
Section 13 of the National Cohesion and Integration (NCI) Act 2008 defines
the user of hate speech as:
13. (1) A person who-
(a) uses threatening, abusive or insulting words or behavior, or dis-
plays any written material;
(b) publishes or distributes written material;
(c) presents or directs the public performance of a play;
(d) distributes, shows or plays, a recording of visual images; or
(e) provides, produces or directs a program;
which is threatening, abusive or insulting or involves the use of
threatening, abusive or insulting words or behavior commits an
offence if such person intends thereby to stir up ethnic hatred, or
having regard to all the circumstances, ethnic hatred is likely to be
stirred up.
(2) Any person who commits an offence under this section shall be
liable to a fine not exceeding one million shillings or to imprisonment
for a term not exceeding three years or to both.
(3) In this section, “ethnic hatred” means hatred against a group of
persons defined by reference to color, race, nationality (including
citizenship) or ethnic or national origins.

9
Like other stakeholders in the media in Kenya, Internews grappled with the
ambiguity surrounding the legal definition of hate speech in Kenya. The
expression “threatening, abusive or insulting words or behavior” is quite
vague while the reference to “color, race, nationality (including citizenship)
or ethnic or national origins” is too limited. More broadly, hate speech is
defined as the promotion and encouragement of violence against an individ-
ual or a group on the basis of religion, race, ethnicity, color, gender, political
opinion, sexual orientation, amongst other.
Moreover, in a post conflict scenario, some dangerous speech which does
not meet the threshold to be defined as proper hate speech still creates
a dangerous and hostile environment, and can promote inter community
animosities.
Susan Benesch of the World Policy Institute�
was one of the first researchers
to develop a definition of dangerous speech. Susan Benesch has developed
a methodology to monitor and identify dangerous speech in countries at
risk of mass violence. At its core are five variables that shape the level of
danger of a particular speech act: a powerful speaker with influence over an
audience; an audience vulnerable to incitement; the content of the speech
that may be experienced as inflammatory; the social and historical con-
text of the speech; and an influential means of disseminating the speech.
Hypothetically, the most dangerous speech act is one for which all five
variables are maximized, but any variable may increase the effect i.e. the
likelihood that incitement will succeed. For example, the same speech act
is more dangerous if made by a speaker with influence and authority over a
fearful audience that does not have access to other sources of information.
The Citizen Watchdog project opted to use “dangerous speech” rather than
“hate speech” to monitor media content and chose to break down danger-
ous speech into three levels:
- Offensive speech: insulting speech targeting an individual and/or a com-
munity;
- Moderately dangerous speech: speech that is abusive and/or uses emo-
tions against an individual or a community but doesn’t call for action;
- Dangerous speech: inflammatory speech that incites hatred, contempt,
discrimination or violence against an individual and/or a community.
5) Background information
This Citizen Watchdog report summarizes findings from 1 November to 31
December 2012.
Regarding the thematic backdrop of the project, after a controversy sur-
rounding the procurement of Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) kits by the
Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), the Executive
took action and engaged in a government-to-government tendering proc-
ess with the Canadian Government. The kits arrived in the country in early
November 2012 and the electoral commission started the voter registration

10
process on 19th November 2012. It ended on 18th December 2012. The
IEBC was targeting 18 million registered voters. However, only a total of
14.3 million Kenyan voters were registered at the close of the month-long
exercise. The figure stands at 14.3 million after the commission struck off
20,000 voters who registered twice. The voter register was open to public
scrutiny and inspected. Despite the fact that the IEBC did not meet its
target, this represents the highest number of registered voters in Kenya’s
democratic history.
In December 2012, political parties had to meet a legal deadline to submit
the details of party alliances. This resulted in political parties setting up coali-
tions in a hurry, creating some surprises for political analysts. The Orange
Democratic Movement (ODM) of Prime Minister Raila Odinga, the Wiper
Party of Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and Ford Kenya of Trade Minister
Moses Wetangula, formed the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD),
although the leaders of ODM and Wiper Party had shown some reluctance
to work together during the five years of the Grand Coalition Government.
Another coalition – named Jubilee – was formed by Uhuru Kenyatta’s The
National Alliance (TNA) party and William Ruto’s United Republican Party,
thereby joining two of the four International Criminal Court indictees into an
alliance. CORD and Jubilee would be the two main political forces of the 4
March 2013 general elections.

11
Content Findings
A total of 1,684 news reports and political talk shows were monitored in the
month of November 2012 and 1,198 in the month of December 2012. As
shown in Chart 1 below, the political talk shows formed 31% of the coverage
in November and 24% in December.
Figure 3: Coverage of News and Talk shows in
November and December 2012
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
November December
percent
Coverage of News& Talk Shows in November &
December 2012
News
Talk show
Most of the radio stations run hourly news briefs and major news bulletins at
7.00am, 9.00am, 1.00pm, 4.00pm, 7.00pm and 9.00pm. The main news bul-
letins are 10-15 minutes long and usually consist of national, international,
regional and local news items.
Figure 3 above shows an increase in the number of news stories on election
and politics in December 2012, because of momentum building around the
election (voter registration and the formation of coalitions). There were fewer
political talk shows in December, when stations hosted entertainment shows
during the festive season.

12
I - Gender Balance
1) Gender balance in the programs
The survey found that men dominate most of the programs monitored.
Nearly half of the programs and stories have both gender represented as
sources of information (interviewees and/or guests): 51% in November 2012
and 40% in December 2012 as per Figure 4 below. However, the findings
show that a high percentage of stories feature men only - 46% in November
and 56% in December. Only 3% of the total stories in November and 2% in
December 2012 feature women only. This ratio is disproportionate.
Figure 4: Gender presence in the programs covered in
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Both Men only Women only
percent
Gender presence
Percentage gender presence in program
coverage
November
December
From Figure 4 above, it is evident that women were underrepresented in the
radio programs analyzed – a trend shown in all stations monitored. (See fig-
ures 5 and 6 below). Kass FM is the station that provides the most coverage
for women. The monitors attributed this to the fact that Kass FM dedicates
Wednesdays to Fridays to women talk shows. Friday programs are indeed
preserved for women politics. Monitors found it encouraged women to talk
more about the country’s current affairs.

13
Figure 5. Gender presence across radio stations in November 2012
15

Figure
5.
Gender
presence
across
radio
stations
in
November
2012

0
50
100
150
200
250
Counts
Radio
Stations

Gender
presence
across
radio
stations
in

November
Both
Men
Women

Figure
6:
Gender
presence
across
radio
stations
in
December
2012

0
50
100
150
200
250
Counts
Radio
Stations

Gender
presence
across
radio
stations
in

December
Both
Men
Women

Figure 6: Gender presence across radio stations in December 2012
15

Figure
5.
Gender
presence
across
radio
stations
in
November
2012

0
50
100
150
200
250
Counts
Radio
Stations

Gender
presence
across
radio
stations
in

November
Both
Men
Women

Figure
6:
Gender
presence
across
radio
stations
in
December
2012

0
50
100
150
200
250
Counts
Radio
Stations

Gender
presence
across
radio
stations
in

December
Both
Men
Women

14
2) Presenter gender in the radio programs
Men also dominate the presentation of news and talk shows. Figure 7 below
shows that 70% of the radio programs were hosted by men in November,
and 62% in December. However, there was an increase – in actual numbers
- of male and female hosts in the month of December 2012.
Figure 7: Presenter Gender in November and December 2012
Both
13%
Female
25%
Male
62%
Presenter Gender in November
Both
7%
Female
23%
Male
70%
PresenterGenderin December
Radio stations should improve gender balance by hiring more female
presenters to better represent the audience. This would encourage female
listeners to contribute their view on air, as they are likely to identify better
with female presenters.

15
II - Issues covered and fairness
Monitors found there was more issue based coverage in December than in
November, when most current issues received insignificant depth coverage.
1) Issues covered
The coverage of the election process was significantly different in November
and December 2012 respectively, as illustrated in table 1 below:
Table 1: Issues Covered in November and December 2012
Issues covered
November
2012
December
2012
Total
Security 593 149 742
Election Campaigns 376 431 807
Constitutional Implementation 295 43
338
Education 53 14` 67
IDPs 51 - 51
Political processes 33 138 171
Employment 29 - 29
Health 27 39 66
Law and order 19 35 54
Agriculture 17 - 17
Food security 14 - 14
Transport 11 - 11
Infrastructure 9 - 9
Legislations 8 20 28
Accidents 3 80 83
Voter Registration - 73 73
National Cohesion - 19 19
Total 1538 1041 2579
Security, election campaigns and constitution implementation dominated
the news in November 2012. News coverage was diversified with 15 differ-
ent themes covered by the news bulletins and talk shows. The newsiness
of the development of the election process, especially the voter registration
exercise and the formation of coalitions meant the issues covered by the
media changed in December 2012 to a focus on campaigns (431 stories,
+14%, compared to November) and on other election related issues (politi-
cal process, law and order, legislation, voter registration). In all, fewer topics
were covered in December, but with more depth on each of the topics.
There were more national cohesion stories in December as campaigns

16
intensified (0 stories in November; 19 stories in December) and fewer stories
about key election issues such as security, constitutional implementation,
employment and IDPs. Other election issues affecting voters directly, such
as food security, agriculture, and infrastructure were not covered at all by
the media.
2) Sources Identification
The majority of stories and talk shows had sources identified. A clear iden-
tification of sources is an indicator of the professionalism of the monitored
newsrooms. Sources can also indicate whether or not the media house has
certain preferences. The monitoring exercise shows that sources were bet-
ter identified in December than in November – 87% and 85% respectively.
Figure 8: Identification of sources in the programs
3) Balance
The study shows that that not many community and vernacular radio jour-
nalists and presenters are biased in their political coverage. According to the
Citizen Watchdogs, there was fair political coverage both in November and
December 2012. It appears that community and vernacular stations provid-
ed relatively balanced election coverage in November and December 2012.

17
Figure 9: Cases of reporter bias in November and December 2012
YES, 1
NO, 99
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
November December
Percent
Reporter bias in the month of November and December
In the few biased cases identified, reporters appeared to favour certain
political parties, by giving them more than due prominence in their coverage,
or by using words like ‘us ‘when referring to their preferred political parties.
The monitors felt that this was unprofessional. “Journalists are supposed to
be neutral, fair and balanced,” monitor 27 asserted. Use of “us” connotes
identification and implies that the reporter takes sides when covering news.
Referring to the figure below, it is clear that Kameme FM was the most
biased of the five radio stations. In the month of November, Kameme FM
had 21 counts of bias, followed by Ramogi FM’s 5 and Kass FM’s 2. Radio
Salaam and KBC’s Idhaa ya Taifa had 1 biased story each during this period.
In the month of December 2012, however, KBC’s Idhaa ya Taifa and Radio
Salaam recorded no case of bias. Kameme FM had the highest number of
biased stories – 13. Kass FM and Ramogi FM each had one biased story.

18
Figure 10: Reporter bias across the radio stations in the month
of November and December 2012
4) Sample bias cases
The findings reveal that Kameme FM favoured Uhuru Kenyatta and The
National Alliance (TNA) party in their coverage. At this radio station, most
of the political news stories revolved around TNA and its leader, presiden-
tial aspirant Uhuru Kenyatta. Monitors found any coverage of the Orange
Democratic Movement (ODM) was negative. It should be noted that
Kameme FM is owned by Uhuru Kenyatta’s MediaMax group.
Below are two distinct cases of bias in Kameme FM.
Case One: Kameme FM, Friday December 7th 2012 - Arahuka
Monitor 28 observed that the presenter in his discussion kept referring to
TNA as ‘us’. By so doing, the presenter implies that he identifies the TNA
party – meaning coverage is not independent.
Case Two: Kameme FM, Tuesday, December 18th 2012 - Arahuka
Monitors 23 and 29 noted that one of the presenters launched an attack on
presidential aspirant Musalia Mudavadi, on his bid to seek a presidential seat
on the Jubilee Alliance ticket. The presenter compares Musalia Mudavadi to
“a child who has been denied bread by his father”. This comes after allega-
tions that Uhuru Kenyatta agreed to step down from the presidential race
in favour of Musalia Mudavadi. Uhuru Kenyatta later asserted that although
he had agreed, he did so under pressure from ‘evil forces’ into signing the
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Musalia. The presenter clearly

19
took sides with Uhuru and the Jubilee Alliance.
Kameme FM is not the only radio station with bias towards a political party.
The monitors observed that Ramogi FM, in turn, was also biased towards
ODM. Most of the political news stories were about party leader Raila Odinga
and ODM party activities. For instance a monitor observed that on Monday,
November 5th
2012, it appeared a presenter only gave call-in opportunities
for callers from the ODM party. While it may be that only callers of the ODM
party made calls, the Monitor felt the presenter should have encouraged
supporters of other parties to contribute to the debate. This would have
encouraged a diversity of opinion on the station.
In Radio Salaam, Monitor 13 noted that on Saturday, November 10th
2012,
in the program titled: ‘Kauli Yako’, the journalists talked extensively in favour
of Mvita Member of Parliament Najib Balala, who is vying for the Mombasa
Senator seat.
The monitors concluded: It is important for the editors and the radio stations
to know that the airwaves are entrusted to them for balanced reporting.
Despite the fact that particular stations linguistically serve certain ethnic
groups, the journalism tenets of accuracy, fairness and balance must always
be respected and upheld. Radio stations must strive to give voice to all
political players to ensure fairness in election coverage.
5) Political Party Coverage
These cases of bias are confirmed in analysis of reference to political parties
in the news and talk shows.
The survey found that in the month of November 2012, in terms of over-
all coverage, the ODM party received the most prominence in the news.
35% of reports were about ODM, 22% about TNA and 10% about URP. In
December 2012, the newly formed Jubilee Alliance made the most news, fol-
lowed by the CORD Alliance, ODM, URP, UDF and WDM. Figure 11 below,
shows the breakdown.

20
9%
17%
40%
16%
2%
1% 9%
6%
DecemberPolitical Party Coverage UDF
CORD
Jubilee
Alliance
ODM
PNU
TNA
URP
WDM
5%
6% 6%
35%
6%
22%
4% 10%
6%
0%
NovemberPoliical Party coverage
KNC
NARC-K
New Ford
Kenya
ODM
PNU
TNA
UDF
URP
WDM
Figure 11: Coverage of political parties in
An indicator of fairness and balance of the monitored radio stations is even-
handed coverage of political parties, according to news value. Table 2 below
indicates factors other than news value must have influenced whether par-
ties were featured or not.
Table 2: Party coverage by radio stations in November 2012 (counts)
Radio Station KNC NARC-K New
Ford-K
ODM PNU TNA UDF URP WDM
Kameme FM 11 9 3 33 4 69 3 5 4
Kass FM 2 2 3 38 6 24 8 32 8
KBC idhaa 14 14 20 51 23 20 7 15 16
Radio Salaam 4 7 8 10 2 14 1 1 3
Ramogi FM 1 6 2 86 4 11 3 13 7
Total 32 38 36 218 39 138 22 66 38

21
The table above shows that radio stations give more coverage to the most
prominent parties and give minimum coverage to the smaller ones, depend-
ing on their editorial preference. Kass FM and Radio Salaam appear to make
an effort to balance political party coverage. KBC Idhaa ya Taifa also makes
some effort, but appears to favour ODM in news coverage (51 stories about
ODM out of 180 – almost a third of all stories).
Political favouritism can be seen among some radio stations, such as
Ramogi FM, which favoured ODM in their political coverage: ODM was the
subject of coverage for 86 of 133 stories in November (64%). In the same
period, ODM’s main competitors namely TNA and URP received much less
coverage: 11 times (8%) and 13 times (10%) respectively. This station needs
to introduce balance to its coverage.
Kameme FM, in turn was biased towards TNA and Uhuru Kenyatta - with 69
of 141 stories on TNA (49%). TNA’s rival, ODM, appeared in only 33 stories
(23%).
The same trend applies to the month of December 2012, as seen in Table
3 below. Nearly all the radio stations gave the most coverage to the Jubilee
Alliance – except Ramogi FM, which leaned towards ODM and the new
Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD). In December, of a total of
100 stories, ODM was the subject of 34 stories, and the CORD Alliance of
24 stories. The Wiper Democratic Movement (WDM) featured in 5 stories,
Jubilee in 18, UDF in 10. Coverage for ODM opponents, URP, TNA and
PNU received insignificant coverage. The monitors found that Kameme FM
showed clear bias toward the Jubilee Alliance and Uhuru Kenyatta. The
Jubilee Alliance was the subject of 60 stories in December, and CORD the
subject of 11 stories – of a total of 114 political stories.
Table 3: Political party coverage in December 2012 (counts)
Radio Station UDF CORD
Coalition
Jubilee
Coalition
KNC NARC NARC-K ODM PNU RBK TNA URP WDM
Kameme FM 6 11 60 5 2 3 4 3 2 3 9 6
Kass FM 9 11 42 1 0 0 8 1 0 0 27 6
KBC idhaa 5 14 24 0 0 3 14 6 1 2 3 5
Radio Salaam 7 11 20 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 0 1
Ramogi FM 10 24 18 5 2 2 34 0 0 0 0 5
Total 39 71 164 11 4 9 64 10 3 5 39 23

22
III – Findings on dangerous speech
From the study, the vast majority of programs contained no dangerous
speech. However, there were a few cases of insults, coded language and
negative stereotyping which were further categorised into: offensive speech,
moderately dangerous speech and dangerous speech (see introduction for
definitions).
1) Presence of dangerous speech
The study shows that there were very few cases of dangerous speech in the
monitored radio stations in November and December 2012: 20 instances in
November in the 1,684 stories and political talk shows monitored, and only
7 instances in December in the 1,198 stories monitored.
Figure 12 shows that, in November, Radio Salaam had the most counts of
dangerous speech (8), and Kass FM and Ramogi FM had 4 counts each.
Kameme FM had 3 counts and KBC Idhaa ya Taifa had one case of danger-
ous speech. Most of these instances were spoken by callers during political
talk shows or by politicians themselves. Sometimes the journalist/presenter
did not consider editing the sound bite of an abusive politician. However,
the survey established that radio stations strive to control hate speech by
cutting off callers and by pre-recording the calls. Figure 12 also shows that
Radio Salaam appeared to have made a particular effort to curb dangerous
speech in its programs (from 8 counts in November to only 1 in December
2012). However, Kameme FM had 3 counts of insults and Kass FM had 2
counts of coded language.
Figure 12: Dangerous speech across radio stations in November and December 2012
November December
Radio Station Dangerous
speech
No dangerous
speech
Dangerous
speech
No dangerous
speech
Kameme FM 3 342 3 213
Kass FM 4 403 2 364
KBC Idhaa ya Taifa 1 355 0 244
Radio Salaam 8 299 1 173
Ramogi FM 4 264 1 197
Total 20 1,664 7 1,191
2) Sample cases of offensive speech
Case 1: Kameme FM: Saturday Nov 24th 2012
Peter Kenneth called Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga monkeys. He said
“The monkeys are the same like the ones in the 70s only the forest is differ-
ent.” This means that they are no different from their fathers”

23
Peter Kenneth’s statement would be categorized as “dangerous speech”,
according to Prof. Susan Benesch’s definition. It comes from a consider-
ably powerful speaker. With the highly charged and ethnicized political
atmosphere present in the country, such speech can easily incite. The radio
station should not allow itself to be used as a platform to broaden political
animosity.
Peter Kenneth’s statement is in breach of the NCI Act 13(1)(a) which states:
“A person who uses threatening, abusive or insulting words or behavior,
or displays any written material; which is threatening, abusive or insulting
or involves the use of threatening, abusive or insulting words or behavior
commits an offence if such person intends thereby to stir up ethnic hatred,
or having regard to all the circumstances, ethnic hatred is likely to be
stirred up”.
Case Two: Radio Salaam, Wednesday November 28th 2012
Speaking in Mombasa, during a public rally, NARC Kenya presidential aspir-
ant Martha Karua asked residents to vet politicians before electing them.
She said, “You can’t elect hyenas who are filled with greed and looking for
opportunity.”
In African folklore, hyenas are the most disdained of animals. To be referred
to as a hyena is to receive the worst form of insult. Just like Peter Kenneth’s
use of monkeys, Martha Karua’s utterance is dangerous and can easily
spark negative reactions from the supporters of her rivals.
Martha Karua’s utterances just like Peter Kenneth’s are also in breach of
NCIC Act 13(1) (a).
Case Three: Kass FM: Thursday November 01, 2012
Coded expression used: - ‘Murkelda”, which means ‘brown teeth’. The
coded expression, ’Murkelda’ is coded Kalenjin word referring to members
of the Kikuyu community. Historically, such stereotypes have been used to
demean and ridicule members of certain communities.
Kass FM, by broadcasting this coded reference uses language understood
by the “in group” (Kalenjin speakers) to refer negatively to Kikuyu people -
thus acting in breach of the NCI Act 13(1) (a). The station uses threatening,
abusive or insulting words, which may incite ethnic animosity.
Case Four: Radio Salaam, Friday November 2nd, 2012
A caller said on air that “fat people are slow in thinking and action.”
Although the statement is insulting, it is not legally in breach of the NCI Act,
however it is in bad taste, and talk show hosts should offer an immediate
counter if such language is used.
Case Five: Radio Salaam, Saturday November 10th 2012
A caller said on air, “Uhuru ni mungiki, Raila Odinga ni shetani, mchochezi
na hafai kuwa president, Raila was involved in the 1982 coup.” (“Uhuri is a

24
Mungiki member, Odinga is Satan ...”).
Background: Uhuru Kenyatta has been indicted by the International Criminal
Court (ICC), whose prosecutor has attempted to prove a linkage between
Uhuru and the outlawed militia group, the Mungiki. Nevertheless, the caller
should have been countered for the inflammatory statement about Kenyatta,
as well as for the cultural insult of referring to Odinga as Satan – especially
as these two were presidential candidates and tensions had been running
high in the run-up to the election.
The monitors therefore regard this statement as being in violation of the NCI
Act – and urge talk show hosts to better manage such utterances.
Case Six: Radio Salaam, Saturday November 10th 2012
A caller said on air “Eti Mombasa hakuna viongozi bali vioozi.” (“In Mombasa,
there are no leaders but only rotten people.”)
Though not in breach of any laws, the statement can be categorized as
contemptuous and belittling, potentially to all communities in Mombasa.
Therefore, on air hosts should indicate on air that it discourages such state-
ments.
Case Seven: Kameme FM, Saturday, December 8th 2012
A Political aspirant referred to his political opponents as children of Goliath
and anti-reformists, thus, they can’t be trusted to bring about change.
Biblically, despite Goliath being almost four times bigger and stronger, he
was felled by David, a small herds-boy. To be called children of Goliath is
demeaning – something which talk show hosts should discourage.
Case Eight: Ramogi, Friday December 14th 2012
A caller said, “Jaluo gin useless.” (“The Luo people are useless”.)
Radio presenters and talk show hosts must insist on respect for all people
on their programs. Here, the NCI Act 13(1) (a) is breached and both the caller
and the radio station should be held responsible.
The caller’s words are not threatening but are abusive and insulting to an
entire community. In an emotionally charged political environment, the men-
tors found this can enflame ethnic hatred.
3) Countering Offensive Speech
Nevertheless, radio programs mostly did not air offensive language, and in
many cases, talk show hosts were able to counter offensive callers.
To control offensive callers, most of the radio stations employed the follow-
ing mechanisms:
- Cutting off air callers using offensive language.
- Advising callers not to use offensive language before and during
the programs.

25
- Encouraging the audience to stick to the topic of discussion
- Using fear to control the callers.
-
Case One: Monitor 14 observed that, Ahmed Bashir, Radio Salaam presenter
begins his discussions by saying: “Ukitumia lugha isiyo mzuri nitakupiga
ngwala.” (If you use offensive language I will take you off air).
Case Two: Monitor 15 established that Radio Salaam presenters kept remind-
ing callers to refrain from offensive language because “the government is
listening”
Case Three: The monitors observed that before and during the program,
Radio Salaam ran an info-mercial to inform all callers that the station does
and will not accept any sentiments that suggest dangerous speech or politi-
cal affiliations.
Case Four: Monitor 45 observed that, Kass FM notably apologized to the
audience when there was an offensive call. On some occasions, the station
also asked offensive callers to apologize.
Radio Salaam made the least attempts to counter dangerous speech. The
monitors observed that the station had not developed a censoring mecha-
nism. Though the monitors acknowledge that presenters cannot anticipate
what a caller is going to say, skills should be developed to recognize and
deflect offensive speech when it occurs.
4) Moderately dangerous Speech
Case One: Kameme FM: Friday November 23 00 2012, Arahuka
The presenter referred to Prime Minister Raila Odinga contemptuously:
“Rekei ndi mwiri Raila Odinga ati Kibaki akiniiuka nake ainuke.” (Let me tell
Raila Odinga that when Kibaki is going home he should go home too).
The statement breaches the Code of Conduct for the Practice of Journalism
in Kenya 4(a) and (c) which states:
(4) Journalists and all media practitioners should recognize that they
are accountable for their actions to the public, the profession and
themselves. They should-
(a) Actively encourage adherence to these standards by all journal-
ists and media practitioners
(c) Recognize that they are duty bound to conduct themselves in
ways that are ethically determined.

26
Since Raila is a Presidential candidate (and Kibaki is not), the remark is inap-
propriate and the presenter is assuming the role of Raila’s political oppo-
nent, which is contrary to the neutrality expected of journalists.
Case Two: Ramogi, Friday, Nov 30th, 2012 (Ramogi Barasa show)
A guest and opinion leader in the “Raila for President” lobby group said on
a current affairs discussion show on Ramogi FM that “wangni to nguono
onge” and “tuko tayari.” (There is no forgiveness this time round, and we are
ready - respectively). The presenter did nothing to stop the guest. Neither
did he ask the guest to apologise for the inflammatory statement.
These statements, being broadcast to the people of Luo Nyanza, are inflam-
matory, considering Raila Odinga and his followers believe he was robbed of
the presidency in 2007. In addition, those still smarting from the 2007/2008
post election violence would find the statement hurtful. The speaker is in
breach of the NCI Act 2008 Article (13) (1) (a) – it is irresponsible of the radio
station not to have challenged these statements.
Case Three: Ramogi FM, Thursday November 8th 2012
A Member of Parliament for Nyatike, Anyaga Onyango, spoke on Ramogi
FM about attacks on him in his constituency. He alleged that the stoning of
his car was organized by his opponent.
Monitor 33 felt that a presenter should challenge such allegations, when
made live on air. Unsubstantiated, the statement could lead to animosity or
retaliatory thoughts.
The statements do not breach the NCI Act since no particular opponent is
named or identified. However, the opposition party was not given a right to
reply – meaning political content on the station was not balanced. Thus the
show host and the radio station were in breach of the Media Code of Con-
duct, Article (1) (a) The fundamental objective of a journalist is to write a fair,
accurate and unbiased story on matters of public interest. All sides of the
story shall be reported, wherever possible. Comments should be obtained
from anyone who is mentioned in unfavorable context.
Case Four: Ramogi, Thursday November 8th 2012-Ramogi Barasa
“Jokuria nyaka duogi e ODM nikech Migori en ODM one.” (Members of the
Kuria community must join the party because Migori is an ODM zone). The
speaker was a politician and Member of Parliament for Nyatike. He spoke
these words on Ramogi’s current affairs show.
According to Monitor 38, the intention was to belittle and intimidate mem-
bers of the Kuria community in Migori. Since the Kuria are numerically infe-
rior to their Luo neighbours, such a statement could be misinterpreted as a
campaign to enhance and entrench political and ethnic hegemony.
While the MP is not in breach of the NCI Act 2008, this would count as

27
dangerous speech based on Susan Benesch’s definition. It was made by a
powerful speaker with influence over his audience.
Case Five: KASS: Saturday November 3rd 2012
Kalonzo Musyoka, during a rally commented that this time round everyone
will vote: “na watu wote waliokuwa wamekufa hawatafufuka.” (The dead will
this time not be able to vote).
This statement is neither hateful nor dangerous, but a sarcastic reference to
what happened in the last general elections. The then Electoral Commission
of Kenya (ECK) was accused of bungling the 2007 election results, and
allowing already deceased people to vote – a reference to the ability to trick
the system with ghost voters – something which cannot happen with the
biometric voter register, introduced for these elections. For the purpose of
this report, it is moderately dangerous.
Case Six: Kass FM Sunday November 4th 2012
The station’s Dr. Richard Keitany said (on air) that he was against the Ruto-
Uhuru alliance and that he did not have confidence in Uhuru Kenyatta,
who, he said, would use his power in office to settle only Kikuyu Internally
Displaced Persons (IDPs).
Such allegations made against a presidential candidate should, either be
proven, verified, challenged or ignored, the monitors found.
While the statement is not dangerous it is careless and reckless. This goes
against the journalistic code of conduct.
Case Seven: KBC, Thursday November 15th 2012-Swala Ibuka
A caller called and said, “All the bandits and cattle rustlers in Baragoi should
be killed.”
The caller was referring to the killing of police officers in Baragoi. Presenters
should counter and temper such statements by asserting that the constitu-
tion protects all Kenyans, and by stating that it is left to legal instruments,
such as the court, to determine the fate of criminals.
The statement breaches the Kenya Constitution, Bill of Rights and Funda-
mental Freedoms, Article 26(1) and (3) as well as Article 50(2). No caller or
media house should promote street justice.
5) Case of dangerous speech
Case 1: Kameme FM: Thursday November 2012-Arahuka
Njogu, a presenter with Kameme FM played a song with the lyr-
ics directed at envoys representing various countries. It stat-
ed that their faces would be disfigured, pulled out and flashed
down the toilet. Their faces, the song said, would be like fertilizer.
(Uthio utwike fertilizers).

28
Envoys from the European Union had stated that since Uhuru Kenyatta and
William Ruto are facing charges against humanity at the ICC, they should
not run for the presidency.
The lyrics qualify for dangerous speech. It is offensive and may harm rela-
tionships between Kenya and its international partners.
The lyrics are also in violation of the NCI Act 2008 Article 13(1) (d): 13 (1)
“A person who distributes, shows or plays, a recording of visual images; or
which is threatening, abusive or insulting or involves the use of threatening,
abusive or insulting words or behavior commits an offence if such person
intends thereby to stir up ethnic hatred, or having regard to all the circum-
stances, ethnic hatred is likely to be stirred up”.
Case Two: KASS FM, Sunday November 04 2012- Kass Kwanet
The station’s Dr. Richard Keitany said: “Kibaishe the government billions
kwal mbarenik agokaji bik kwai ama mi mbaret nekikikaji bik chok ago chang
chechok che squatters.” (The government used millions to buy land for their
people (Kikuyu) while many of our people are squatters).
Such comments can easily open up festering wounds between the Kikuyu
and Kalenjin communities, which have been involved in altercations and
violent confrontations mainly due to historical injustices.
The statement violates the NCI Act Article 13(1)(a) (1) “A person who uses
threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, or displays any writ-
ten material; which is threatening, abusive or insulting or involves the use
of threatening, abusive or insulting words or behavior commits an offence if
such person intends thereby to stir up ethnic hatred, or having regard to all
the circumstances, ethnic hatred is likely to be stirred up”.

29
IV - Citizen Watchdog’s views on controversial programs
During the two focus group discussions, the citizen watchdogs commented
in particular on three radio program slots: two from Kameme FM, and one
from Kass FM. These “controversial” programs cannot be deemed danger-
ous, but they either contravene journalistic ethics or provoke heated debate,
and may be offensive to some listeners.
1) Cross Fire, Kameme FM
“Crossfire” is a political talk show program broadcast simultaneously on K24
Television and Kameme FM from 10pm to 11pm daily. The show hosts and
presenters appear to exert control over interviewees and they do not mod-
erate the direction of the discussion. This results in bitter and acrimonious
exchanges which may pass for either offensive or hate speech.
On-air disorder should be avoided by in the first place vetting guests before
inviting them to the studio. Jerry Okungu, a renowned marketer and col-
umnist and Tony Gachoka, a political activist nearly came to blows in the
course of one of the debates – and such instances must be avoided. The
incident showed the presenter requires training on moderation skills to
acquire the tone and demeanor to objectively manage out-of-line guests.
2) Arahuka, Kameme FM and its presenter Njogu wa Njoroge
Njogu wa Njoroge is a radio presenter who hosts a breakfast show
“Aharuka” on Kameme FM. The monitors noted that Njogu wa Njoroge was
blatantly biased towards the TNA party and Uhuru Kenyatta. He continu-
ously endorsed both the party and its presidential candidate in his shows
and did not host members of other political parties. He also encouraged
callers loyal to TNA.
It was also observed that whenever he was on air, Njogu would call Uhuru
Kenyattta regularly to seek his opinion on various political issues. He did
not offer this in turn to other presidential aspirants from the same or other
regions. Njogu would refer to TNA as ‘us’ thereby making his political bias
clear.
Monitor 21 recommended that Njogu be trained on impartiality, fairness,
objectivity and balance, as his blatant bias was cause for alarm.
“Kameme FM should consider giving other political parties and politicians
from outside central Kenya coverage to achieve fairness, objectivity, and
balance,” said Monitor 21.
Monitor 27 observed that Njogu’s depiction of Uhuru as the best and only
candidate fit to be a president left listeners with no alternative viewpoints.
In that regard, Monitor 22 recommended that Njogu should not only be
trained but cautioned on the possible consequences of his utterances and
use of songs to ridicule other people.

30
3) The Diaspora, Kass FM
The Diaspora is a program on Kass FM hosted by Kalenjin speakers
in Washington DC between 10:30pm and 5:00am daily. It serves as an
exchange medium with their counterparts in Kenya.
Monitors observed that the program was not being professionally man-
aged, thus creating loopholes for the spread of hate speech and insults,
as illustrated in the cases below.
One monitor observed that at one point there was a contention between
Kalenjins in the diaspora and those in Kenya after someone from Washington
DC referred to listeners in Kenya as stupid. The show was terminated for
almost a week, during which time acrimonious exchanges were extended
online on Facebook. The monitors recommended extensive training for the
show hosts.
On another occasion in the same program, monitors recorded Dr. Richard
Keitany saying: “The government used billions to buy land for ‘its people’
whereas there are many Kalenjin squatters who have not been allocated
land.”
Dr. Keitany’s statements are alarming and fall into the category of “dan-
gerous speech” with the potential to incite and cause tension between
Kikuyus and Kalenjins.
The monitors also observed that in December 2012, a caller from the dias-
pora said: “Kalenjins are very stupid.” This was in reaction to the Uhuru-Ruto
Alliance (The Jubilee Alliance). The caller went on to say that the Kalenjins
were being cheated by the Kikuyus yet they (Kikuyus) took Kalenjin land.
Following this statement, some listeners were so furious that on December
7, 2012, a caller asked the Kass FM CEO to scrap the program.
The two programs Aharuka and Diaspora on Kameme and Kass FM
respectively appear to provide regular platforms for dangerous speech
mongering. The owners, management and presenters should jointly find a
remedy within the existing legal framework.

31
Conclusions and Recommendations
◊ There is little dangerous speech on the five radio stations moni-
tored most of which is perpetuated by callers. Most of it was
“offensive speech” and “coded language”.
◊ Radio stations are doing their best to control dangerous speech
by cutting off offensive callers and by using a pre-recording filter-
ing mechanism.
◊ KBC Idhaa ya Taifa presenters are fair and balanced in their politi-
cal coverage.
◊ Gender presence in the programs is not equitable. Men dominate
– both in the form of media staff and of content.
Training
Presenters and moderators should be trained on interviewing skills. This will
enable them to better control their interviews. They also need to be edu-
cated on the importance of conducting research on topics of discussion to
avoid misleading their audience.
Civic Education
From the findings, it is clear that most citizens neither understand nor appre-
ciate the impact and ramifications of dangerous speech. Civic education
needs to be done countrywide, to make citizens aware of dangerous speech
and its repercussions. Civic education should be a continuous process – the
anxieties of an election period make it an unsuitable time for civic education.
Call-in programs
Most of the dangerous speech in the media is perpetrated by callers. The
media houses in question ought to put in place a mechanism for controlling
calls or callers – to ensure no dangerous speech is aired. Internews needs
to spend more time training presenters and talk show hosts on on-air media-
tion, and countering abusive callers.
Gender Presence
Women are underrepresented in the radio programs. They should be
encouraged to participate in talk shows and be interviewed for features – to
better highlighted issues affecting women.
Definition of Hate Speech
The NCIC and other stakeholders need to seek a clearer and legally binding
definition of hate speech. This will enable the media and citizens to clearly
understand and respond to hate speech.

32
Appendix 1 – Questionnaire / Code Sheet
Variable Description
NAME OF THE MONITOR
NAME OF THE RADIO STATION
DATE THE STORY WAS AIRED
TIME OF THE DAY
NAME OF THE PROGRAM
Presenter(s) Name
PRESENTER GENDER
- Female
- Male
PROGRAM
- News bulletin
- Political Talk Shows
GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE
- Local
- Regional
- National
- African
- International
Area the program refers to-(code the widest geo-
graphical scope that applies and give the name)
Main Issues Discussed
- Constitution implementation
- IDPs
- Security
- Election campaigns and Rallies
- The Somali Question
- Food Security
- Employment
- Reclamation of Arid and Semi arid land
- Education
- Agriculture
- Elections
- Ethnic Conflicts
- Corruption
- National Cohesion
- Law and Order
- Health
- Infrastructure
- ICC
- Environment
- Religion
- Economy
- Accidents/Disaster
- Culture
- Legislation
- Media
- Political Process and Administration
- Sports
- Other
Law and Order: All sto-
ries about crime and the
handling/prosecution of
(alleged) crime by police
and court system / judici-
ary
Legislation: All processes
connected to the enact-
ment/implementation of
laws
Political Process and
Administration: Parliament/
Government/Party busi-
ness, management of pub-
lic administration

33
Dominant actor in the article
- Academician/researchers
- Politician
- Civil Rights activists
- State Official
- NGO’s
- Diplomat
- Business man/woman
- Trade Union
- Religious Leader
- Professional Association
- Woman/man on the street
- Sports man/woman
- Journalist/media house
- Artist / Celebrity
Other
Specify the Name of the
person, institution or
organization from which
the person is from.
Gender Presence in The Discussion
- Both women and men central to the story
- Men central
- Women central
Who is covered as the main subject of the story,
men or women? Who are the sources, men or
women
Sources Identification
- Sources explicitly identified
- Sources identified as anonymous
- Sources not identified
Chance to Comment
- Chance given
- No chance given
- NA
Are people mentioned in an unfavorable context in
the article given a chance to comment?
If nobody is mentioned in an unfavorable context,
choose NA
Comment / Fact
- No journalistic opinion.
- 20% journalistic opinion-Small portion
- 20% journalistic opinion-contains sub-
stantial portion
Is the presenter able to counter offensive callers?
Yes (explain how)
No (explain why)
Is the reporter politically biased:
Yes (explain)
No

34
Obscenity
- Obscenity
- No obscenity
Obscenities are words or phrases that usually refer
to sexual parts or functions in an offensive way.
Note: There are legitimate reasons for using sex-
related terms e.g. in health or crime stories where
explicit terms must be used to explain issues.
.
Hate Speech
- No hate speech
- Negative stereotypes or insults
- Dehumanizes a group of people
- Threats or alarming statements
- Ridicule or sarcasm
- Coded expressions for ethnic groups or
activities related to ethnic groups
- Statements inciting to violence
- Other
Hate Speech Details-
List all characteristics of hate speech that apply,
transcribe the hate speech quote word by word and
describe the following context very detailed:
Who is speaking (e.g. politician, man/woman from
the street, caller, journalist, radio presenter)?
Where is the person speaking? What is his inten-
tion? What is the political and social context? Who
is the audience? What are they likely to perceive as
the meaning of message? How well informed are
they? What other information sources are available
to the audience?

35
Variables related to Politicians / Parties
Variable Description
Political Party:
Leaders Quoted in the program:
Profile Percentage coverage:
- 5 (%)
- 33 (%)
- 66 (%)
- 100 (%)
Only fill in this field for politicians and parties,
not for topics.
- 5%: Only one mention in the article
- 33%: article covers politician / party
substantially, besides other persons
/ issues
- 66%: article predominantly covers
this party / politician
- 100%: article covers only this party/
politician
Tonality
- +1 (Positive)
- 0 (Neutral)
- -1 (Negative)
Only fill in this field for politicians and parties,
not for topics.
Positive: where the media company/journalist is
clearly biased in favour of the candidate/party;
where the candidate/party is praised.
Neutral: where information is presented in an
unbiased way; there is no discernible tone.
Negative: where the media company/journalist
is clearly biased against the candidate/party;
where the candidate/party is criticized.

36
The Topic of discussion:
- Economy/Employment
- Constitution Implementation
- Election campaigns and rallies
- Education
- Ethnicity/Cohesion
- Food Security
- Agriculture
- Family Values
- Gender
- General Election Issues
- General National Politics
- Health
- ICC
- Infrastructure
- Internal Party Issues
- Land Issues/IDP
- Security
- Youth
- n.a.
Kind of event the party /politician is covered in
- Institutional
- Campaign rally
- Institutional / Campaign
- Corporate event
- Funeral
- Religious gathering
- Not determinable
- Other

37
Appendix 2 – Focus Group Discussion Report
Introduction
In the process of conducting the survey, the CWC monitors hold monthly
Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). The FGDs were designed to establish
citizen’s attitudes, perceptions and opinions on media content and conduct.
The FGDs also help in evaluating the performance of monitors and provide
opportunity to make adjustments where necessary. To provide an overview
of the November and December findings, CWC monitors held a two hour
FGD in early December 2012 and late January 2013 for each radio station:
KBC, Kameme, Ramogi, Radio Salaam, and Kass FM respectively.
During the FGD’s, disparities arising from comparative analysis of both
the November and December findings were also addressed. Some of the
disparities include; fewer forms submitted: (from 1,684 to 1,198), fewer
programs co-hosted by presenters of both gender, reduced incidents of
dangerous speech from 20 to 7 cases, among others.
The monitors also shared their individual assessment of the performance of
various radio stations regarding political bias, journalistic opinion, perpetra-
tion and/or curbing of hate speech, and gender mainstreaming. At the end of
the FGD’s they made recommendations relating to the monitoring process
as well as improving the performance of each vernacular radio station with
regard to dangerous speech.
1) KBC Radio, Idhaa ya Taifa
The Kenya Broadcasting Corporation’s, Idhaa ya Taifa is a national state run
radio station. It broadcasts in Kiswahili. Ten watchdogs monitor its prime
news bulletins and political talk shows. The watchdogs were trained on how
to monitor hate speech, per the Constitution 2010, the NCIC Act and the
Journalists Code of Conduct. The monitors met on December 3rd
2012 and
January 23rd
2013 for the FGDs. The monitors said that they had immensely
benefitted from the first FGD.
Observation on Hate speech
In the month of November there was one case of dangerous speech and
none in December.
Monitor 7 noted that politicians and other leaders had become more cau-
tious, due to their knowledge of dangerous speech and its consequences.
However, Monitor 6 observed that individuals at grassroots level (perhaps
spurred on by politicians?) were making inflammatory statements – and
not on mainstream media, as witnessed in Kajiado County where people
posing as preachers spread dangerous speech. He observed that most call-
ers during talk shows expressed security concerns about polling day and
afterwards.

38
One monitor observed that wananchi think of dangerous speech as a vice
that can only be perpetrated by influential politicians. The monitor also
observed that dangerous speech infringes on people’s freedom of expres-
sion.
In reference to deliberate efforts on the part of presenters to curtail danger-
ous speech, monitors observed that KBC pre-recorded, cut off and barred
offensive callers. It also forewarned listeners not to use dangerous speech
when they call.
Presenters
The monitors however noted that there was gender bias in the media moni-
tored, given that male presenters dominated news bulletins
They noted that KBC paired a fairly informed presenter and a less informed
counterpart in most political talk shows. Monitor 4 observed that presenter
Cynthia Anyango did not contribute in debates, but instead just agreed with
her co-presenter. She played no meaningful role in political programs, but
was more prominent in shows dealing with relationships and family. Monitor
6 observed that Cynthia had made some progress, and had the potential to
do much more.
Monitors unanimously agreed that in December, political activity was much
lower than in November.
Main issues discussed
According to reports submitted by monitors, three main thematic issues
dominated programs: political campaigns and rallies, security, and political
process and administration.
Recommendations
The monitors advised that KBC Radio should strive to cover issues other
than elections, in order to have balanced and issue-based coverage.
Regarding dangerous speech, liability should be extended to media own-
ers. They also recommended that the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) more
actively monitor and act upon dangerous speech.
Monitor 7 recommended that the monitoring process should continue for
a period of two years after every general election so as to equip ordinary
wananchi with adequate knowledge of dangerous speech.
2) Ramogi FM
Ramogi FM is a vernacular radio station owned by Royal Media Services and
broadcasts its programs nationally in Dholuo language. Even though both
Radio Lake Victoria and Nam Lolwe too broadcast in Dholuo, Ramogi has
more listenership because of its unlimited frequency, compared to the other
two whose frequencies are localized around Lake Victoria. Like the KBC
station, Ramogi FM is monitored by ten individuals selected on the basis of

39
proficiency in Dholuo and a good grasp of current affairs. The monitors also
received prior training on media guidelines for monitoring hate speech in
Kenya as well as on the contents of the NCIC Act 2008.
Observation on dangerous speech
Monitor 39 observed significantly fewer cases of hate speech in the second
monitoring and Monitor 34 noted that presenters were being more cau-
tious and went out of their way to conduct live civic education. Monitor 36
observed that awareness (of the pitfalls of dangerous speech) had improved
after concerted civic education efforts. Monitors agreed that Ben Oluoch
had contributed significantly towards issue-based talk shows and civic edu-
cation on electoral issues, constitutional implementation, and other matters
related to governance. Monitor 37 remarked that the radio station promoted
peaceful coexistence ahead of the March 4 elections.
Monitor 38 observed that in December 2012 Ramogi involved civil society
and government agencies in promoting peace in their programs. Discussants
were invited to the studio to explain different peace initiatives with young
people. He also observed that politicians spoke recklessly in the absence
of media and more cautiously when being covered by media – something
he witnessed at a function attended by legislator Otieno Kajwang in Mbita.
Monitors observed that people were leaving areas predominated by ethnic
communities other than their own in anticipation of chaos.
Fair and Balanced Coverage
Monitors reiterated earlier comments that Ramogi was biased towards
CORD and expressed substantial resentment towards other parties. They
observed that there was gender bias towards men in the selection of guests
on Ramogi FM programs. From their observations, listeners were reveren-
tial towards politicians. An observation shared by all monitors fed into the
notion that Ramogi FM gave biased prominence to incumbent politicians as
opposed to newcomers. Monitors 33 and 38 observed that political pro-
gramming was seldom about the issues of Luo Nyanza.
Monitor 36 recorded discrimination among callers on the issue of ‘clanism’.
People of one particular clan discriminated against someone who declared
interest in an elective position.
Gender presence in programs
There was disproportionate representation of women in talk shows and
debates. The notion that politics is a man’s game is still in operation in Luo
Nyanza was witnessed on Ramogi FM, given that the Duond Mine, “voice
of women” program involved women in economic issues only - not political
talk shows. The issues hindering women from elective positions were identi-

40
fied to be culture, gender stereotypes and resources. Even women who do
vie for influential positions face intimidation and slander. Women in politics
are sometimes labeled as prostitutes by political male chauvinists within the
larger Luo community. For such reasons, women tend to largely discuss
social and economic issues on talk shows. A civic education intervention
needs to be made.
All news bulletins were presented by men. Ramogi FM ought to involve
women in major programs, talk shows and bulletins.
Issues highlighted
Security was the most common issue highlighted, followed by road acci-
dents and natural disasters. Political process administration was featured as
the third most covered issue.
Countering offensive callers
The monitors observed that presenters applied various methods to counter
offensive callers: hanging up on them, forewarning and technology based
caller identification/censure. Before political shows began, presenters
explained themes and other aspects of the program so that callers could
comment meaningfully. They gave the countering of calls at 6 out of 10.
Recommendation
Monitor 34 recommended sustained educational programs even after elec-
tions to achieve better inter-ethnic relations. The monitor civic education on
dangerous speech and peace initiatives should be extended to villages, and
not only through mainstream media. Monitor 37 suggested the decentraliza-
tion and extension of the CW project, recommending that it run for the next
five years to achieve better inter-ethnic relations in the long term.
Monitor 33 recommended that Ramogi FM exercise gender mainstreaming
to include women in political talk shows and to achieve gender parity in
staffing.
Lastly, monitors suggested that the NCIC ensure that dangerous speech
offenders do not occupy public office.
3) Radio Salaam
Radio Salaam broadcasts in Kiswahili. It has huge and loyal listenership
along the coastal region of Kenya – a region which has always experienced
violence during electioneering. The region has in the recent past been
blighted by the secessionist politics of the Mombasa Republican Council
(MRC) which has quoted historical injustices to demand the secession of
the region. The Tana Delta which is part of coast region has also been hit by
brutality of attacks and killings.

41
Monitoring Experiences and Observations
During the discussion, Monitor 20 observed better countering of malice and
dangerous speech in December. Radio Salaam presenter Ahmed Bashir
warned callers in advance by informing them that they were being listened
to and each caller would be held responsible for their utterances. Likewise,
Zubeida Fahrid cut off offensive callers during talk shows. He also observed
that the station edited news items to get rid of hate speech or what may be
perceived as hate speech.
Monitor 13 noted there was little political activity due to festivities and mostly
social issues were covered. She said Radio Salaam had put effort into objec-
tive civic education. The monitors concurred that Radio Salaam covered
mostly regional news and security. In December, Monitor 14 realized that
Radio Salaam employed the use of conflict sensitive language when eport-
ing on Tana Delta clashes.
Issues Covered
The station covered mainly issues related to security, election campaigns
and rallies, accidents and disasters during the month. Key among the secu-
rity issues was the Tana Delta ethnic clashes and the story of police imposter
Joseph Waiganjo. Waiganjo was accused of having impersonated a senior
police officer for five years. President Mwai Kibaki appointed a team to
investigate the imposter scandal.
Dangerous speech
According to monitors, in the little time since monitoring started, there are
indications that presenters and interviewees knew they were being moni-
tored. They said political talk shows contained more dangerous speech than
news bulletins.
It was also noted that before any political show, Radio Salaam ran an
infomercial warning of dangerous speech and its consequences. Monitor
16 observed that Zubeida Farid took warned callers not to use dangerous
speech. Some callers like Mzee Mtitigo still engaged in reckless discourse
that could amount to dangerous speech. A presenter, Sammy Mwaura,
would concur with the inflammatory statements of Mzee Mtitigo. The moni-
tors gave Radio Salaam a score of 7 out of 10 for the presence of dangerous
speech. The monitors found that in December Mzee Mtitigo was more cau-
tious in his language usage.

42
Recommendation
At the end of the FDGs the group agreed that the late night Jukwa wazi
program had lots of dangerous speech and decided to monitor it (Jukuwa
wazi) from Tuesday to Friday. The monitors recommended further training
for journalists, especially Sammy Mwaura, on dangerous speech coverage.
4) Kass FM
Kass FM is a vernacular radio station broadcasting in the Kalenjin language,
which is dominant in the Great Rift Valley. It has nationwide frequency
reachable at various wavelengths across the country, and also has a cor-
respondence station in the USA known as Kass Washington DC, linking
Kalenjin speakers in the diaspora with those in Kenya.
It is the first and only media house whose presenter, Joshua Arap Sang,
faces crimes against humanity charges at the International Criminal Court
(ICC) following the disputed 2007 post-election violence (PEV).
Fair and Balanced coverage
During the survey it was noted that Shadrack Mutai was biased, favoured
CORD and gave favorable coverage to the CORD nominations coordinator,
Franklin Bett. Shadrack repeated clips of Franklin Bett several times in a
given period. It was also noted that Alex Tum favoured CORD and scorned
other parties’ representatives on air. In the course of talk shows, he laughed
sarcastically at URP callers and agreed with anybody making favorable com-
ments about CORD. Alex Tum also expressed too much personal opinion
on his programs. Tarus was found to be objective in his approach to issues
However, Monitor 46 noted that on Wednesdays and Thursdays Kass FM
interviewed political leaders from other communities – a break from the
norm of only considering leaders within Kalenjin community for interviews.
It was also noted that callers interrogated leaders from other regions based
on policy and political party affiliation. This was also witnessed during the
Ikweny Kandoik ‘focus on leaders’ program when even youth leaders from
different communities were interviewed – key in promoting national cohesion
and integration, so that Kalenjin people can make informed decisions when
electing leaders.
Monitor 42 observed that the Kass Kwanet program which focuses on
Kalenjins in the diaspora showed bias towards some politicians. The rela-
tionship between Kenyans abroad and locally became so frosty that the
program was stopped for a while – and the two groups extended their con-
tention online through Facebook.

43
Monitor 47 observed that the radio station had made progress in terms of
gender balance. It was recorded that every Wednesday and Thursday from
8:30 to 9:30 pm the station ran programs on women development issues.
In December, women vying for various positions were interviewed every
Monday and Tuesday.
In some instances, the diaspora engaged in offensive language and even
referred to their Kenyan counterparts as ‘stupid’ and ‘ignorant’. Most of the
time during the controversy, monitors could not record the names of discus-
sants because they were not mentioned.
Issues Monitored
Election campaigns and rallies dominated content, followed by security:
the Tana Delta clashes and Baringo cattle rustling, which led to the closure
of 15 primary schools. The station also covered accidents and disasters:
the Molo accident that claimed 21 lives, the Salgaa accident involving a 14
seater matatu and the Kerio Valley landslide – 7 people died and hundreds
were displaced.
Dangerous speech
Following a report by the NCIC on two FM station in November 2012, Kass
FM has been extremely cautious. Presenters opted to conduct voluntary
civic education in the Rift Valley to complement the efforts of NCIC. The
reports show that there was better awareness of dangerous speech, as
Kass FM cautioned callers and the general public about hate speech and
its implications.
One case was however recorded: A caller said: “If you voted in a member
of Kikuyu community, it is like giving a hyena food.” This statement was
recorded by Monitor 44. They also noted that the Ikweny Kandoik program
sometimes did not reveal the names of studio guests. During the discussion
it emerged that the settlement of Nakuru land issue had improved ethnic
relations between Kalenjin and Kikuyu communities.
Counter offensive callers
People were more aware of dangerous speech and were being corrected
whenever they digressed. Monitors noted that callers were forewarned
before talk shows began. Where necessary, presenters cut off and
screened callers. Generally, the surveyors noted that there was more civic
awareness due to the ICC cases facing both William Ruto and Joshua
Sang.

44
Recommendation
The monitors suggested that Alex Tum and Shadrack Mutai needed training
on hate speech coverage to ensure effective and professional performance.
They also noted that civic education efforts needed to be strengthened. For
example, a notion to be corrected was that many people in the Rift Valley,
especially the elderly, were misinformed, thinking that voting in the March
4 polls would not require voters to turn up at polling stations, because vot-
ing would be electronic. Lastly, the monitors suggested that the Citizen
Watchdog project should be extended for two years after the elections for
people to understand and internalize hate speech as well as free and fair
electoral processes.
5) Kameme FM
Kameme FM is a vernacular radio station owned by MediaMax Limited,
broadcasting its programs in the Kikuyu language. Its frequency is accessed
everywhere in the country through various wavelengths. The station com-
mands near religious following in central Kenya, predominantly occupied by
the Kikuyu ethnic community.
There are other FM radio stations broadcasting in Kikuyu language like Coro
FM but Kameme has much more listenership, which is why it was listed for
monitoring.
The radio station is being monitored by 10 citizens who received adequate
training on the NCI Act 2008, NCIC Media Guidelines for Monitoring Hate
Speech in Electronic Media, Constitution 2010 and the Journalist Code of
Conduct at the beginning of the CW project.
Issues covered:
According to forms submitted and monitors’ reports, this period saw much
coverage of fatal road accidents and natural disaster. The commute up-
country and to various places for Christmas holidays contributed to the road
carnage.
Fair and Balanced coverage
In their reports and following the FGDs, all monitors noted that Kameme
FM was biased towards TNA and Uhuru Kenyatta whom presenter Njogu
portrayed in a positive light in all his talk shows. It was also observed that
whenever he was on air, Njogu would call Uhuru Kenyattta occassionally to
seek his opinion on all political issues. He did not replicate this with other
presidential aspirants from the same region. They remarked that Mr. Njogu
blatantly referred to TNA as ‘us’ thereby leaving no doubt about which
political side he was supporting. The monitors felt that Njogu’s on air work
polarized listeners.

45
Dangerous speech
The findings illustrate far fewer incidents of hate speech in December, which
they attributed to caution on the part of both callers and presenters. The
researchers observed that Kameme FM had restricted a number of callers
and encouraged the use of SMS.
Recommendations
The monitors recommended that Njogu needs training on impartiality,
fairness, objectivity and balance. His blatant bias is a cause for alarm. In
that regard Kameme FM should consider giving politicians outside central
Kenya coverage to achieve fairness, objectivity, and balance.
In the course of monitoring news bulletins, the monitors observed that
headlines did not reflect any news items. It is time the editors worked
professionally and ensured that headlines reflected news items presented.
Lastly, the station should cover substantial and detailed news.
6) Conclusion
From the content of the data gathered and forms submitted to the server,
it is evident that the monitors are more competent than before, following
their admission that they benefitted tremendously from the previous FGDs
and training. In line with their roles, it was observed that they were more
acquainted with the NCI Act 2008 and therefore performed better in the
month of December. The the monitors remarked that campaigns were just
starting in earnest and it was too early to give conclusive verdict on hate
speech in various radio stations.
Recommendations by monitors of each radio station depicted that report-
ers, news anchors and presenters had made tremendous progress as far
as dangerous speech and conflict sensitive reporting were concerned.
However, they needed continued training as campaigns for March 4, 2013
elections heat up. Moreover, civic education targeting the general public
was essential to ensure free and fair elections.
Lastly, it emerged that CW project monitors are competent and performed
their duties ably and responsibly throughout the month of December 2012.

46

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Citizen Watchdog Report Nov December 2012 (3)

Citizen Watchdog Report Nov December 2012 (3)

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