On Wednesday, May 3, media practitioners and participants across Kenya gathered for the Annual Media Summit to mark World Press Freedom Day.
The president of Kenya Editors Guild, Zubeida Kananu, while speaking at the summit held in Safari Park, mentioned media freedom is increasingly under threat and journalists face challenges when sourcing for news.
Representatives of different media outlets gathered at Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi for the function with delegates from Zambia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
The theme for this year’s summit is “Shaping a Future of Rights – Freedom of Expression as a Driver for all other Human Rights.
Zubeida observed that media freedom was increasingly under threat and in turn had jeopardised society’s rights to freedom of expression as a whole.
“Media freedom, freedom of expression for journalists are increasingly becoming under threat at the moment whichever part of the world you’ll look at”.
She mentioned that in countries like Sudan and Ukraine, it is now dangerous to be a journalist. Journalists face threats both physically and online as they do their work.
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“In the past year, scores of journalists have been injured while on duty. The violence has been from both state and non-state actors,” Koome said.
She declared an immediate stop to violations of journalists, saying scribes must be allowed their constitutional right to work with freedom.
The president also lamented that at times journalists face challenges when sourcing news.
The president also said, journalists face challenges when sourcing for news. She said, “Like the recent case in Shakahola where journalists have been barred from covering the story”.
She said the media has a right to operate without hindrance.
” As we mark Press Freedom Day, it is our hope that we can jointly find long-lasting solutions to these threats to journalism,” President Koome said.
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