KCA Holds Training Workshop on Media and Devolution in Turkana County

March 14, 2015

Kenya Correspondents Association (KCA)  concluded a two -day workshop for journalists based in Turkana County aimed at strengthening their capacity to generate quality and issue-based media content on Devolved Governments in Kenya. The workshop, which was held in Lodwar Town on March 12-13, 2015, brought together more than 30 journalists from different media outlets based in the county. The journalists were taken through intensive training sessions which focused on understanding the Devolved system of Government, the gains and emerging threats to the implementation of devolution and a discussion on a recent study on the impact of Devolution on selected counties done by the Constitution Reform Education Consortium (CRECO).

CRECO Executive Secretary who was among the facilitators, Regina Opondo also shared with the participants the findings of a recent survey by her organization on the impact of insecurity on the implementation of Devolution across the country in general and Turkana County in particular. She said the surveys revealed that a majority of rural Kenyans appreciated the gains being made by the devolved governments on service delivery but were also alive to the challenges facing the devolved units including emerging cases of corruption.

On security, Opondo said the survey had revealed that cases of perennial and emerging conflicts in many counties were undermining the implementation of devolution and service delivery. The correspondents also discussed the importance of the media in helping citizens to understand the devolution implementation process and the necessity for journalists to focus more attention on issue-based stories that could help the citizens understand the impact of devolution and hold their leaders more accountable.

KCA Chairman  Oloo Janak took the journalists through the current media environment in Kenya and explained the policy and legal challenges that continued to negatively impact on press freedom and which if not addressed, will continue to compromise the capacity of the media and journalists to report more effectively on devolution among other critical issues.  Janak explained that KCA ‘s Project on media and devolution was aimed at building the capacity of correspondents to generate quality and issue-based media content on devolved governments. He urged the journalists to remain ethical and avoid being captured by the County Governments, adding that there were worrying trends in some counties where it was becoming difficult for correspondents to generate in-depth, accurate and well investigated stories.

Media Council of Kenya Deputy Chief Executive Victor Bwire and a Program Officer in Charge of Media Monitoring Amos Kibet, made presentations on the finding of a survey the Council had done on reporting extractive industries in Kenya. Bwire said the extractive industry in Kenya was among the emerging issues which presented challenges to journalists adding that this called for more training to build the capacities of journalists to report more accurately and ethically. The Media Council’s presentation was part of a collaborative initiative with KCA in reaching the journalists in Turkana County, which is one of the areas that has not been within the mainstream of media operations and training in the country. The county is among those that have suffered marginalization under Kenya’s development planning over the last 50 years. This has inevitably been reflected in the media sector as well. However, both Janak and Bwire said there were increasing interventions by the media sector by among others, KCA and MCK to integrate the county and other previously marginalized areas in media training and coverage as part of national integration and enhancement of press freedom and freedom of expression.

The Turkana -based Journalists also had a session to share their experiences in covering the area, which has been wracked perennial inter-ethnic conflict based previously on cattle rustling but which has in recent times been turning into bloody violence over land, oil and other resources. The journalists said they faced harsh terrain, hostility from the warring communities, threats from emerging vested interests, lack of adequate remuneration, facilitation and support by the media managers and owners, lack of access to information from government and Tullow Oil now operating in the area and unreliable communication and transport infrastructure. They called for improved working conditions and guarantees over their safety and security due to the ongoing conflicts in, among others the Kapedo area where some of them had faced hostility and assault youths and leaders from the rival communities who accused the media of bias over the ongoing conflicts.

During the workshop, the journalists and Turkana County Government Officials and leaders had lively engagement sessions on a number of issues including restrictions or lack of access to information, hostility from the county leaders and lack of frameworks for regular engagement between the County leadership and the media. However, the officers who represented the Turkana County Government at the workshop said efforts were already being made for sustainable engagement and building better understanding between both national and local media and journalists.

 Two senior County officials, Simon Rugu and Chris Alieta told the forum that the county government had recently invited and held sessions with editors from the national media based in Nairobi and had also started holding consultative forums with the media and journalists based in the county. Janak said KCA would work closely with the county government and the local journalists in building a mutually beneficial and sustainable engagement framework to ensure a better working environment for the journalists and enhanced reporting of developments in the county.

The workshop held in Turkana was part of a yearlong project being implemented by KCA with support from Ford Foundation which covers Turkana County and selected counties in Nyanza, Western, Rift Valley, Nairobi and its environs and the Coast Region.