PREPARED BY AFRICAN WOMAN & CHILD FEATURE SERVICE

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Katherine Morton
6 years ago
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1 REPORT ON MEDIA ENCOUNTER BETWEEN JOURNALISTS AND THE COMMUNITY IN KIBERA ON THE AGENDA FOUR AS ENUMERATED WITHIN THE NATIONAL COHESION AND RECONCILIATION ACCORD PREPARED BY AFRICAN WOMAN & CHILD FEATURE SERVICE

2 A REPORT OF A MEDIA ENCOUNTER BETWEEN JOURNALISTS AND THE COMMUNITY IN KIBERA ON THE AGENDA FOUR AS ENUMERATED WITHIN THE NATIONAL COHESION AND RECONCILIATION ACCORD The African Woman and Child Features (AWC) in partnership with the Caucus for Women in Leadership held a Media Encounter in Kibera Youth Hall on the 18 th of May 2010.The activity had been inspired by the state of polity in the country in regard to the extensive reforms currently underway but with special attention to the fourth agenda as formulated during the 2008 Serena Peace Talks mediated by the Former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan. The objectives of the activity were therefore to; Create awareness with regard to the progress of the current reform processes. Engender the reform processes Give women an opportunity to map out their space within these processes Give the media and women a forum to engage with regard to reform agenda Share experiences especially in regard to how the post election violence impacts on the community s drive to participate in the reform process Having welcomed the participants, Immaculate, Convener of the Community women in Kibera briefly summarized the agenda for the meeting by encouraging the participants to be forthcoming with information and or questions as the sessions progressed. She therefore emphasized on the significance of the meeting in light of the current state of the reform process which she said needed to be driven by the community. Deliberations on the Ongoing Reforms-Agenda Four and the Constitutional Review Process Discussant: Peter Ochola Peter Ochola of the Caucus for Women in Leadership opened the discussions by shedding light on the four agenda s agreed on at the Serena talks. They are; 1. End the violence 2. Address humanitarian crisis 3. Coalition government 4. Comprehensive and long term reforms 2

3 It is however the fourth agenda on reforms that needed dissecting during the meeting. Ochola therefore involved the participants in naming some of the reforms processes already underway, such as land, judiciary, Electoral commission and also the Constitution. The discussions highlighted what these reforms would mean to Kenyans particularly if they were citizenry driven. Further, there was a general agreement that indeed the country is ripe for change, the kind of change that would improve the livelihoods of Kenyans. But for this big dream to be achieved, people need to understand their role in the reform process and to step into these roles. For instance in regard to the referendum, people need to register as voters and vote based, not on what politicians are preaching, but a careful understanding of the Draft Constitution. Ochola therefore made it clear that the Constitutional review process was not perfect and neither was the draft, but it is what Kenyans need to step into higher levels of growth.the participants responded by emphasizing on the need for them, who have been enlightened on the reform agenda, to cast their nets wide and to take the message to their networks and communities. Discussions and Sharing of Experiences The participants expressed interest on the call for a citizenry participatory approach towards the reform process, however, the participants claimed to have been marginalized in regard to the information concerning these reforms. Participants said that they have been experiencing difficulties while registering as voters because many did not have the required documents. This, they said, was caused by the loss of property experienced by many in Kibera when their houses were looted and burnt to the ground. Many have only begun rebuilding their lives recently and have therefore not followed up with the process of replacing the lost documents. Others said that they raise orphaned children who are now ready to take their identity cards and also vote particularly in the upcoming referendum, but this has been difficult because required documents such as a parent s death certificate cannot be produced because it was either destroyed during the skirmishes or the guardian was never given in the first place. 3

4 Facilitation on the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) Discussant: Joy Mashedi The TJRC, touted as one of the most ingenious forums for national healing and cohesion as is evident in countries such as South Africa, Rwanda and Sierra Leone, has become a controversial and non-moving process. Despite the hitches and glitches facing this body, it is important that the community understands the rationale behind its formation and specifically its mandate. More importantly, what role they can play to ensure that it speaks to their issues. TJRC has the mandate to look into historical injustices by aligning itself to three pillars; 1. Truth seeking 2. Focusing on crimes against humanity 3. Focusing on Economic crimes For there to be justice and reconciliation, Mashedi encouraged participants to be proactive enough in order to make this process achieve its objective for the benefit of all Kenyans. Discussions and Sharing of experiences in light of the role of the media within the reform process Discussant: Jane Godia Jane Godia, an Editor with the African Woman and Child Features, explained the need for media engagement particularly in disseminating information to communities especially those that have been marginalized. The participants had expressed frustration in their attempt to achieve media coverage of issues they feel are key to the ordinary Kenyan as concerns the reform agenda. She gave examples of outlets that look into issues that are purely about reforms and the women of Kenya, one that gained instant popularity among the participants is the Kenyan Woman, a monthly publication that focuses on mapping out the position of the Kenyan woman vis-à-vis the reform processes. 4

5 Way Forward In conclusion, the meeting wrapped up by formulating the following agenda as a guide into moving forward beyond the media encounter; Participants were encouraged to register as voters since the Electronic Voter Registration was still on going Participants were also encouraged to avail themselves for the upcoming civic education particularly in regard to the proposed Constitution Participants were also encouraged to make decisions, especially during the referendum on a point of knowledge The media was encouraged to report more on the community issues such as the difficulties the participants in Kibera have been facing while registering as voters 5

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