BY DAVID MATENDE
Two months ago, the name Kapedo would not have signaled on the national radar. It was not until the tragic incident in which bandits killed 19 police officers that the small trading centre on the Turkana/Baringo border was thrust into the national limelight.
The reason is simple: National media is simply never bothered with such “forlorn” and “far-flung” places, until something horrible happens there. It is not news from the “Wild North’” if it is not about banditry, cattle rustling, drought, hunger and lately attacks by Al Shabab.
Media’s habit of reporting only the gloomy news from Kenya’s northern regions has made many Kenyans to assume that this part of country is one huge, desolate wasteland where bandits and terrorists rule; and where hunger and disease stalk the people year in, year out. A recent study shows that 93 percent of the news reports from these pastoralists-dominated regions are about hunger and conflict.
Is it not a shame for an advanced national media such as Kenya’s to perpetuate this stereotypical image of northern Kenya, half a Century after the colonialists, who condemned that area left our country?
While everybody, including media, are always quick to point out national economic disparities, very few talk about disparities when it comes to media coverage of the various regions.
This negative depiction of the northern region ignores the fact that actually many good things happen here.
For example, most of the people that live in these regions are hard-working- pastoralists who provide cities and towns with meat and milk and therefore help to feed the nation.
There are farming activities in some parts, and generally people are going about their daily businesses like those in other parts, such as Nairobi or Kirinyaga.
One would really have to search hard in the newspapers and television channels to find any inspiring stories from the north. Hardly are there stories about economic or social activities, not even in the business, agriculture or even entertainment sections.
Instead of being celebrated whenever they merit it, news media tend to condemn everyone from the north as harbingers of conflict, mainly cattle rustling and other clashes caused by competition for the scarce water and pastures. No effort is made to separate the honest, peace loving pastoralists from the criminal bandits and cattle rustlers.
No wonder, when security forces (read the KDF) are send to these areas to restore peace or disarm as in the case of Kapedo, they treat everyone, including women and children, as criminals. The innocent majority became targets of the KDF fury; they are clobbered and their property destroyed or looted.
It is true that a lot of bad things happen in the sprawling counties of Turkana, Pokot, Baringo, Mandera, Garrissa, Marsabit and Isiolo. As matter of fact, some of the tragedies that take place in these counties are not given the prominence they deserve in the national media.
However, this does not give media reason to report only the negative, in most cases in an alarmist style.
Like vultures, media corps tend to swoop on the Kapedos and Turbis of the north only when tragedy strikes. As soon as they collect there carrion, they pack their expensive equipment and jump into the next chopper, leaving behind the ill-equipped, poorly paid stringers to continue with the sad tale.
Yet media have a responsibility to sustain a narrative from these places. In any case, the tragedies don’t just happen; they have causes, and can only be resolved if and when these are addressed.
One wonders why media, some of which are managed by very well-trained and experienced journalists, imagine that their work ends when a full stop is put on the last news item.
The work of the media is not just to report what is happening, be it good or bad. Media are in a unique position to help defuse tension and resolve conflicts, because they are non-partisan players. They can bring hope and inspiration.
Sadly, while they always sensationally report conflicts whenever they occur, hardly do they get interested in the efforts being expended at bringing peace, or alleviating hunger and disease
Media must go beyond the mere reporting of the conflicts in the north and strive to provide backgrounds and put things in their proper context. If they did this, the rest of the country would understand what is happening and empathize with not just one, but all sides involved in a conflict.
Additionally, they should continue to educate the public on the intricacies of a given conflict.
Because media have not explained the conflicts well, the public hardly understands what is going on.
Take cattle rustling for example, how many Kenyans understand its intricacies beyond the simple reasons given that it is fueled by cultural practices and business. Media would help if they explained clearly how rustling has been commercialized, including naming the unscrupulous merchants involved in this illegal trade and where the stolen cattle end up.
Let us be fair; because of the geography of the north, it is not always practical for journalists to visit the actual scenes of the conflict and are sometimes forced to rely on secondary sources. The danger with this is that they sometimes end up giving biased reports.
Untrue reporting can breed cynicism and disenchantment among the affected communities and help fan conflict. Despite this journalists should not accept any information that they cannot verify.
Some of the conflicts, not only in the north, can be detected long before they explode. A vigilant media can help manage or resolve conflict by rising an as alarm to warn against a potential conflict. Before conflicts, particularly of ethnic or clan nature erupt, there could be suspicious movement that a sharp-nosed media could detect and alert the security personnel.
While northern Kenya is the most discriminated against as far as news coverage is concerned, the rest of rural of Kenya is not treated well either. It seems that the further from Nairobi a place is, the more pessimistic the news.
The last TV feature from my native Vihiga County I watched before writing this article was about some old women who had been raped by what looked like a serial young rapist. True, this was s story of profound public interest, however, am sure there is a lot going on in Vihiga besides the rapes and other bizarre events that national TVs seem to be obsessed with.
There was hope that vernacular radio stations would change the tone of news from villages. That hope seems to have been dashed as most of them have been infected by the same disease and, at beat, merely repeat the news national media reports, as if there was no interesting and inspiring local news.
Matters are not helped by the fact that many of these vernacular radio stations are owned and run by Nairobi-based businesspeople only interested in profits.
The way urban-based national media reports the north and other rural parts of Kenya is not different from the way international media reports Africa. The irony is that among those who point fingers are international media, accusing it of painting Africa as a continent of wars, hunger and pestilence are editors of the national media outlets.
While Africa as a continent could change this by exploiting modern information technology to tell its stories the way it wants them told, the people of north Kenya still have to rely on national media to tell their stories to the rest of Kenya, as they are part of it.
Therefore, it is time national media changed their narrative on northern Kenya by giving diverse news and opinion about the region. This will not only help to mentally integrate this neglected region with the rest of the county, but will also help in the minimization of the recurrent conflicts.
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