News

It has become nearly three weeks Kenyans are still living in TV blackout following the shutting down of four national TV channels by Communication Authority (CA). In early February, the CA raided NTV, QTV, KTN and Citizen TV transmission stations in Limuru and dismantled analogue equipment and carted them away. The move was taken to force the stations to hand over their content to the Government - owned firm Signet and Chinese Owned Pan Africa Group (Pang) for distribution along with moving from analogue to digital broadcasting. The Global migration deadline is June this year. The Government wants all the media outlets to hand over their content to a Chinese firm a position while the media houses want the Government to give them a digital license to air their own programmers, also allow them time to import and distribute set-top boxes to viewers. (Daily Nation)

Comment

The move to shut down the TV channels has sparked outrage both from the public and politicians especially from the opposition side. The Media owners, lawyers and the ordinary Kenyans have strongly accused the action describing it as a denial of economic and human rights to the institutions and individuals. The media houses maintain that the push has infringed the media freedom and that it is a government plan to silence and gag the media and putting it under its grip. On its side, the Government argues that the push is meant to advance the information technology along with respect to the international treaties.

The argument does not pertain to digital migration. For this is connected to technical advancement and no one disputes this. The greatest problem lies in the tussle between the government and the media companies concerning economic income of the broadcasting field. It is well known that there are only two companies that are in charge of providing signals which are Signet which is owned by the Kenya Broadcasting Company (KBC) which is a state owned property and, the other one is Pan Africa Networks Groups which is owned and run by the Chinese with some shareholders from amongst local and indigenous tycoons. Therefore, this signal providing merchandise is being run by a handful of individuals.This is real and pure monopoly. One of the greatest financial disasters emanating from the capitalist economic system, where the production and distribution of commodities and services is usually being monopolized by a few individuals who tend to control everything.

With regard to shutting down the TV channels a move seen by some politicians and the media as deprival of the citizen's right to access information to individuals, indeed even if it is true this claim, but not really for the modern media today which are turned by the politicians into platforms and machineries for imposing and pushing their evil agendas on ordinary citizens. The clearest example is how today the media is dragged by secular regimes in waging an intellectual war against Islam and Muslims.

This current circus witnessed between the Government and the Media revolves around the criteria of the benefit a capitalist measure which under Capitalism and its governments consider to be secular supreme. The measure has absolutely ruined the economy of the world by putting production and circulation of commodities under a control of few. Under Islamic state (Khilafah "Caliphate") this kind of drama will never be witnessed. All citizens will be free to establish a media house such as Radio, Television or Newspaper as long as does not infringe the unity of the Ummah.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrr by
Shabani Mwalimu
Media Representative of Hizb ut Tahrir in East Africa