By Silas Nyanchwani.
Maybe the debate will not have added a single vote to his re-election bid.
But from the word go, Uhuru and his deputy dismissed the media saying, newspapers are only good for wrapping newspapers and Ruto called media people watu wa porojo.
But we know how Ruto likes attending TV interviews and how he is a good chef with numbers. Whereas the media some times sells ‘porojo’, we have taken more porojo from Ruto than any single politician. That white lie about the 9 stadia Jubilee has built was the climax. Even the president gave him that ‘What the fuck?’ look when he openly lied with a straight face.
The government pays media so much money to broadcast its project. They spent so much to broadcast about the SGR. With little else accomplished they launched a portal. Anyway.
What Uhuru has done is to destroy one of the most important institutions in a democracy. Like Trump who has been insulting the media, terming it Fake news, Uhuru has had a similar approach.
I said a while ago, that most of his voters are wont to watch K24. K24 does their job very professionally but I doubt if they can criticize the president. We noticed from the get go that UhuRuto were painfully averse to criticism. Dennis Galava wrote a basic critical piece that every Kenyan would agree with and the government flexed its bounty of muscles. Gado was not spared with critical and satirical pencil.
Guys we can’t have a media that exists to massage the ego of the rulers. While our media is imperfect(no media in the world is, even NYT and BBC have their biases and from time to time have gone to bed with their government) it is still an important institution in our young democracy.
I have complained that they don’t give my presidential candidate enough time but I’m honest enough to myself to know it has more to do with the disorganization of the NASA communication team and less about the media. If, God forbid, Raila failed to show up I will not have joined the bandwagon that would have laughed at the media thinking it is the media that has lost.
Guys we need to criticize the media so that they can do a good job. But don’t even for a moment think that social media can replace mainstream media. Uhuru only has about 3 Million followers on social media. Kenya has 45 million people. Half are not even on social media and rely on mainstream media. They too want a piece of him. Not all can attend his million rallies.
When Uhuru was in Kisii, and went to some household to ask about how the money they now disburse to olď people has changed heard someone in the crowd ask, “nere oyo?”(is he the one?)
Meaning there are people who don’t know him.
Arrogance is a bad thing. Pride precedes failure and disgrace.
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