August 2, 2000
His Excellency President Daniel arap Moi
Office of the President
Harambee House
Nairobi, Kenya
VIA FAX: 011-254-272-1515
Your Excellency:
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is gravely concerned about
proposed amendments to the Books and Newspapers Act that would dramatically
increase the mandatory publication-licensing bond.
Under the amended Act, new publications would be required to post a bond
of 1 million shillings (US$13,459) as security for any monetary penalty
that might arise from criminal proceedings against them. This represents
a hundred-fold increase over the current bond of ten thousand shillings
(US$134.59).
Publishers that failed to post this bond would face fines totaling one
million shillings, a three-year jail sentence, or both. Repeat offenders
could be jailed for five years and banned permanently from publishing.
The proposed amendments also hold distributors and vendors of publications
responsible for prior violations of the Act. As a result, any person who
distributed a publication that had not paid the bond would be "liable
for a fine not exceeding twenty thousand shillings (US$269) or to imprisonment
for a term not exceeding six months, or to both," whether or not they
were aware that the bond had not been paid.
We believe that the mandatory licensing-bond requirement in the original
Books and Newspapers Act of 1905 violates the freedom of speech guarantees
in Section 79 of the Constitution of Kenya. The proposed amendments would
make matters worse. We call on Your Excellency's government to replace
these archaic colonial statutes with legislation that upholds the Constitution
of a modern democratic state.
Punitive media legislation can only heighten the existing climate of hostility
towards the Kenyan press. On June 12, for example, students from the Jomo
Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) stormed the
Nairobi headquarters of the independent Nation media group, stoning
the windows and destroying property.
This act of thuggery was carried out in response to an article titled
"Drugs rampant at Kenyan varsity" in that day's issue of the Daily
Nation, which alleged extensive drug use at the university campus.
According to CPJ's sources, the police failed to prevent the rampage or
control the rioting students.
The same day, Amos Majisu and Vincent Maluti, two journalists from the
independent daily newspaper The People, were arrested and questioned
over a June 10, 2000, article reporting allegations that police officers
in Kakamega district had tried to rape a local woman. Although they were
not charged with any offense, the journalists were detained and interrogated
for several hours in an attempt to force a retraction, which they refused
to do.
As a nonpartisan group of journalists dedicated to the promotion of press
freedom worldwide, CPJ condemns both state and private violence against
journalists. We also believe that a state whose officials contribute to
establishing an environment hostile to the media is at risk of losing
both its credibility and its authority. We therefore call on your government
to withdraw the proposed amendments to the Books and Newspapers Act in
favor of a legal regime under which all journalists in Kenya may work
in an atmosphere free of judicial or physical coercion.
Thank you for your attention to these important matters. We await your
reply.
Sincerely,
Ann K. Cooper
Executive Director
Send a letter to:
His Excellency President Daniel arap Moi
Office of the President
Harambee House
Nairobi, Kenya
VIA FAX: 011-254-272-1515