Exactly a year ago on the night of 1st March 2006 the pride that Kenyans had of enjoying the freest press south of the Sahara and north of the Limpopo was destroyed by an act of vandalism when The Standard and KTN offices were invaded by State hooligans who wanted to prove that might was right. Since then the tables have been turned and right is proving to be mightier than might itself!
Today the world is on the side of The Standard and indeed the pen has been proved to be mightier than the sword -- at least the sword that was held on that night by one John Michuki of the British home guards disgrace during Kenya’s struggle for independence in the 1950s, when he was notoriously known as “Kimendero” the crusher. The pen in Kenya did not win its envious position lightly. It was at a very bitter price and the role played by the journalists at Kenya’s oldest newspaper to win the global respect that Kenyan journalism now commands, must today be recalled by reminding ourselves of what really took place on that sad day.
On that night journalists at both The Standard and the KTN had put their paper to bed and aired the most important story of the day. Very much like today the story was the result of the KCSE examination. A very important story indeed; but hardly a threat to state security. And as the papers with examination results were being printed armed hooded police commandos invaded Standard offices. They seized and burned copies of 2nd March issue .They disabled the newspapers printing press. They confiscated equipments including computers .They shut down Kenya Television Network (KTN) broadcasting station. And why? Because Michuki had given his orders which were followed to the letter.
A spontaneous demonstration by the people of Kenya illustrated the bitterness they had against Michuki. He was pushed against the wall and had to speak and tell the people the reason for his dastardly act. So he spoke: “When you rattle a snake you must be prepared to be bitten (by it).” Who was the snake? What was the rattle? And what was the bite? After Michuki spoke there were more questions raised than answered and some of these questions are still lingering in our minds.
Whether or not President Mwai Kibaki’s Government is a snake, history alone will tell. But before the historians come into the picture to demystify the cobwebs of these events, it is the view of many observers that in Kibaki’s Government there are many snakes of the most dangerous kind. The venom they spread is not only harmful to journalists but to the establishment itself. It is venom called corruption which has seen a number of heads roll in the very cabinet itself. History will record the roll played by the media in the fight against corruption. In that war The Standard is a foot soldier in the forefront trying to kill Goliath with a homemade knife. To many people therefore the snake is still alive and just as dangerous if not more so. It can still bite and it can still cause a lot of harm.
The snakes in Kibaki’s government are the people who have become millionaires overnight and they have the arrogance to exhibit their wealth with impunity. The snake in Kibaki’s government is the colonial Penal Code which allows Michuki to behave like a hooligan and get away with it. The snake in Kibaki’s government is Section 79 of the current constitution which gives freedom of expression with one hand and takes it away with another.
On March 2nd Kenyans were shocked by the barbaric raid and it must be recorded that The Standard’s main rival, the Daily Nation , comes out with a special edition and condemned police brutality in Kenya. This showed that it takes very little to rekindle journalistic fraternity back to life in this country. This fraternity should be kept alive at all costs because it is now quite clear there are evil forces out to destroy it. Following the Daily Nation’s special edition the police denied ever setting the papers on fire though pictures taken at the scene proved they actually did it.
At that time the Minister for Internal Security, John Michuki, said the commandos were indeed part of the police force. They were members of the notorious Kanga Unit which consisted of 12 policemen working under the then Police CID boss Joseph Kamau. Was this the team of rattle snakes whose number one duty is to muzzle the press when the country’s security is as stake? Another question still lingering in our minds!
The journalistic courage of The Standard was exhibited on the 2nd of March when the issue which was burned was back on the street plus a special Standard edition which sold like hot cakes. It described in details how the Kanga thugs invaded the editorial offices and the printing plant. There are few places in the world where journalists are so fearless in the face of real danger. May be it is because of the courage shown by journalists in Kenya in general and those in The Standard in particular that Michuki quickly realized that the Kenya of 2007 is very different from that of the 1950s.
The war against Michuki’s attempt to muzzle the media was not fought by The Nation
and The Standard alone , indeed the Kenya Times of the 3rd of March was in a fighting spirit too it had a courageous headline screaming “State Thuggery”.It also had a front page editorial in which it called the police “ terrorist”. It talked of scenes of arson and robbery .The Standard of that day had a one word headline “OUTRAGE” and praised the people of Kenya for uniting against dictatorship. If the watchdog role of the Fourth Estate that was shown by the media at that was still maintained today, many of our social, political and even some economic problem hidden in corruption would have been on their way out. Apparently it is not Michuki alone who want to muzzle the Press in Kenya. There are many dangers scattered all over the country threatening the media including some people who claim to be champions of free speech.
The Daily Nation of March 3rd exposed a split in the Cabinet over the police raid. In a front page editorial it urged Kenyans to resist bullies. At that time 27 diplomats condemned the raid and The Sunday Nation of March 5th revealed that the President was under pressure to declare his stand on the raid. Until today he has not opened his mouth about the issue but since Kenyans have not forgotten the event of March 1st and 2nd a at this election time the sooner he says something the better it will be for everyone including his own political future.
Today the world is on the side of The Standard and indeed the pen has been proved to be mightier than the sword -- at least the sword that was held on that night by one John Michuki of the British home guards disgrace during Kenya’s struggle for independence in the 1950s, when he was notoriously known as “Kimendero” the crusher. The pen in Kenya did not win its envious position lightly. It was at a very bitter price and the role played by the journalists at Kenya’s oldest newspaper to win the global respect that Kenyan journalism now commands, must today be recalled by reminding ourselves of what really took place on that sad day.
On that night journalists at both The Standard and the KTN had put their paper to bed and aired the most important story of the day. Very much like today the story was the result of the KCSE examination. A very important story indeed; but hardly a threat to state security. And as the papers with examination results were being printed armed hooded police commandos invaded Standard offices. They seized and burned copies of 2nd March issue .They disabled the newspapers printing press. They confiscated equipments including computers .They shut down Kenya Television Network (KTN) broadcasting station. And why? Because Michuki had given his orders which were followed to the letter.
A spontaneous demonstration by the people of Kenya illustrated the bitterness they had against Michuki. He was pushed against the wall and had to speak and tell the people the reason for his dastardly act. So he spoke: “When you rattle a snake you must be prepared to be bitten (by it).” Who was the snake? What was the rattle? And what was the bite? After Michuki spoke there were more questions raised than answered and some of these questions are still lingering in our minds.
Whether or not President Mwai Kibaki’s Government is a snake, history alone will tell. But before the historians come into the picture to demystify the cobwebs of these events, it is the view of many observers that in Kibaki’s Government there are many snakes of the most dangerous kind. The venom they spread is not only harmful to journalists but to the establishment itself. It is venom called corruption which has seen a number of heads roll in the very cabinet itself. History will record the roll played by the media in the fight against corruption. In that war The Standard is a foot soldier in the forefront trying to kill Goliath with a homemade knife. To many people therefore the snake is still alive and just as dangerous if not more so. It can still bite and it can still cause a lot of harm.
The snakes in Kibaki’s government are the people who have become millionaires overnight and they have the arrogance to exhibit their wealth with impunity. The snake in Kibaki’s government is the colonial Penal Code which allows Michuki to behave like a hooligan and get away with it. The snake in Kibaki’s government is Section 79 of the current constitution which gives freedom of expression with one hand and takes it away with another.
On March 2nd Kenyans were shocked by the barbaric raid and it must be recorded that The Standard’s main rival, the Daily Nation , comes out with a special edition and condemned police brutality in Kenya. This showed that it takes very little to rekindle journalistic fraternity back to life in this country. This fraternity should be kept alive at all costs because it is now quite clear there are evil forces out to destroy it. Following the Daily Nation’s special edition the police denied ever setting the papers on fire though pictures taken at the scene proved they actually did it.
At that time the Minister for Internal Security, John Michuki, said the commandos were indeed part of the police force. They were members of the notorious Kanga Unit which consisted of 12 policemen working under the then Police CID boss Joseph Kamau. Was this the team of rattle snakes whose number one duty is to muzzle the press when the country’s security is as stake? Another question still lingering in our minds!
The journalistic courage of The Standard was exhibited on the 2nd of March when the issue which was burned was back on the street plus a special Standard edition which sold like hot cakes. It described in details how the Kanga thugs invaded the editorial offices and the printing plant. There are few places in the world where journalists are so fearless in the face of real danger. May be it is because of the courage shown by journalists in Kenya in general and those in The Standard in particular that Michuki quickly realized that the Kenya of 2007 is very different from that of the 1950s.
The war against Michuki’s attempt to muzzle the media was not fought by The Nation
and The Standard alone , indeed the Kenya Times of the 3rd of March was in a fighting spirit too it had a courageous headline screaming “State Thuggery”.It also had a front page editorial in which it called the police “ terrorist”. It talked of scenes of arson and robbery .The Standard of that day had a one word headline “OUTRAGE” and praised the people of Kenya for uniting against dictatorship. If the watchdog role of the Fourth Estate that was shown by the media at that was still maintained today, many of our social, political and even some economic problem hidden in corruption would have been on their way out. Apparently it is not Michuki alone who want to muzzle the Press in Kenya. There are many dangers scattered all over the country threatening the media including some people who claim to be champions of free speech.
The Daily Nation of March 3rd exposed a split in the Cabinet over the police raid. In a front page editorial it urged Kenyans to resist bullies. At that time 27 diplomats condemned the raid and The Sunday Nation of March 5th revealed that the President was under pressure to declare his stand on the raid. Until today he has not opened his mouth about the issue but since Kenyans have not forgotten the event of March 1st and 2nd a at this election time the sooner he says something the better it will be for everyone including his own political future.
