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Kenya journalists relive coverage of conflict

6 March 2008

Journalists agree to give greater voice to children during conflicts

Kenyan journalists have agreed that they must give a greater voice to children, women, the disabled and other traditionally disadvantaged groups during conflict as part of their commitment to peace-building.

At their first post-election Conflict Management workshop, the journalists admitted that they did not pay much attention to these so-called ‘vulnerable groups’ who bore the brunt of violence that erupted over the results of a disputed election.

Key Kenyan political leaders President Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga reached an agreement brokered by former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in late February 2008 that ended the political crisis in the country and launched a period of national healing and reconciliation.

“The media is the main eye of the people (but) this time fell below expectations and paid little or no attention to these groups,” said journalist Oloo Janak, speaking in the name of 40 colleagues drawn from Kenya, Uganda, Zambia and Rwanda. “The way forward is that we must do more.”

Kenyan Professor Eddah Mutua-Kombo, a peace communications specialist from St Cloud University Minnesota, in the US, led the 3-5 March workshop on ‘Tools and techniques of trumpeting the concerns of children during conflict’.

The workshop was convened by the Media Diversity Centre and the Commonwealth Secretariat. It was also supported by the Governments of Canada and Sweden and the UN’s agency for children’s affairs UNICEF (Kenya).

“Let the children’s voices be heard. Allow them to express their pain in their own language and terms. Do not dehumanise them by ignoring them,” Professor Mutua-Kombo said.

Other experts at the workshop included top Kenyan conflict communications specialist Professor Absalom Mutere and Canadian journalist and academic Professor Allan Thomson, who has researched in the reporting of the post-genocide period in Rwanda and faculty of the School of Journalism at the National University of Rwanda.

Dr Dominic Nduhura, director of Rwanda’s School of Journalism, gave a ‘shock therapy talk’ on events during the genocide in 1994 and how journalists operated. He urged the group to stick to basic journalistic principles to avoid exacerbating conflict.

The Commonwealth Secretariat has said it stands ready to assist Kenya to implement the reform agenda outlined in the agreement, including electoral and constitutional issues.

Journalists urged the Secretariat to include on that list follow-up workshops to deepen their skills and knowledge around conflict management, hostile environments, political analysis and other specialised areas.