Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki has called for the review of Kenya journalists’ pay as the world marks Press Freedom Day.
In a statement on Wednesday, Kindiki said it was “pretentious of us to expect an independent media and unbiased information from reporters when journalists go for months without pay and others cannot sustain themselves because the pay is too little.”
“Allow me today, to speak for and on behalf of the thousands of journalists on our planet who speak about our issues daily but lack even basic human provisions because of poor pay and uncaring media sector actors who find this normal,” the CS said.
“Today is my day to call for a review of the payment terms of journalists in our country – ensuring they are given some remuneration commensurate with their day’s work and today’s cost of living. There must be an EQUAL pay for an EQUAL day.”
The Interior CS at the same time noted a threat to the individual safety of Kenyan journalists and pledged that his ministry will not hesitate to punish those who threaten reporters in their line of work.
“We firmly believe in an open society and the media represents this openness in our democracy. We will continue protecting journalists to do their job – online and offline and punish those who threaten the safety of reporters in their line of work,” he said.
World Press Freedom Day, observed on May 3 every year, was established by the United Nations General Assembly to raise awareness of the importance of press freedom and to remind governments of their responsibility to respect and uphold the right to free expression.
Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights establishes the right to free expression.
This year’s theme is “Shaping a Future of Rights: Freedom of Expression as a driver for all other human rights”.
